extending lease

dankes

Hi there

I'm selling my flat and because the lease is 81 years, I'm looking into how much it'll cost to extend it. My VERY DODGY freeholder's agents are asking for £300 to just answer the question about how much it will cost and then they will put it to the freeholder.

A red flag went up in my mind when on their letter it said that the freeholder may not be the compentent landlord and that I should make other enquiries if I want as I won't get my money back if the freeholder isn't the competent landlord. (Nor if I decide not to carry on with the lease extension.) On my lease, which I've tried to read carefully, it says the leasor is someone other than the freeholder but then there's a mention of a transfer although the leasor isn't mentioned again but did sign it.

My real question is, I'm about to do an online land registry search on my own before I pay out the £300, will that tell me who the competent landlord is or will it just tell me who the freeholder is? If it won't tell me, how do I find out who the competent landlord is?

Any help and advice from anyone would be gratefully received. I have tried the lease-advice website but couldn't make head nor tale of what they were saying.

Cheers
D x

Doozergirl

It's not 'dodgy'. They are doing their job for which they have to make a profit (your money of course) and they will have to pay a surveyor to value your lease. If you don't like ahaving a managing agent, there are things you can do, of course, but as you're selling, there's not much point.

I have no idea what the 'competent landlord' is. I'd call the managing agent and ask what the heck they mean by that. You're also paying them to explain themselves properly!

You'll probably be able to sell with no problems at all at 81 years, though it would be prudent to get the quote at least.

dankes

Erm, no, actually the freeholders are a law unto themselves. I've lived with their antics for eight years so I know what I'm talking about. And yes, we looked into the right to manage at one point but not everyone had the money so we couldn't go through with it.

The competent landlord is the person who can give you the right to extend the lease. The initial money they asked for isn't for a surveyor - I'll have to pay for that if I choose to continue with the lease extension.

This money is just so they will answer my question as to how much it will cost to extend the lease and if the freeholder is the right person to ask. Which is why I was asking if anyone knew how to find that out who the competent landlord is because if they aren't the competent landlord then I will have lost £300 odd just to find out they aren't the people I need to ask.

So, if anyone knows, then I'd be most grateful for the help.

thecornflake

Just a quick note - 81 years shouldn't be a problem - we just sold with 74 years left and it wouldn't have been worth it to extend the lease for the increase in value.

I woould consider whether it's worth starting down that road, especially as it's going to cost you at least £300 to start with.

That is cheaper than the normal route by the way, which is I think around £500 and up for a qualified leasehold valuer to value the extension for you.

dankes

Thanks thecornflake.

I'm actually thinking of leaving it as well because I do not need the grief.

And just to be clear, the £300 they are asking for is just to say whether they are the people to talk to about extending the lease. It's not for valuations, etc, which will all come aferwards. They basically are asking for money before they answer my question as to whether they are the people to apply to.

Thanks, though. x