I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Ripley. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Ripley - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my flat in Ripley. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Ripley.

I am hoping to complete next month on a basement flat in Ripley. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Ripley should include some of the following:

• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Ripley. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Ripley where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Ripley conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

I acquired a 1 bedroom flat in Ripley, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in Ripley with an extended lease are worth £263,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2088

With 62 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.