What will it cost?
The amount of money you pay for a statutory lease extension or statutory freehold purchase is calculated by a formula which is contained in the 1993 Act itself. In order to find out what this is likely to be you will need to talk to a valuer who specialises in this kind of work. It is likely that you will have to pay for a formal valuation.

We can give you some of the names of the local valuers specialising in this work and also an estimate of what their fees are likely to be.

Fees
If Coles Miller are instructed to do either a lease extension or freehold purchase for you we will prepare a comprehensive report for you outlining not only the procedure in full but all of the costs you will need to consider concluded by way of a budget.

Once a Notice has been served on the freeholder there is a responsibility on the flat owner to pay a certain part of the freeholder's fees, both legal and valuation, but those fees have to be reasonable. Whilst the freeholder is not obliged to give estimates as to those fees Coles Miller give estimates as part of the budget mentioned above.

If terms could not be agreed and the matter had to be decided by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal then the freeholder cannot claim his fees from a flat owner for the preparation and attendance at a hearing. Both parties would be responsible in those circumstances for their own fees. This is one reason why the majority of cases settle because both parties want to avoid the costs of going to a hearing.

In summary the fees you will need to have in mind are as follows:-

• Coles Miller's fees
• Your own valuer's fee for his valuation and his negotiations
• The freeholder's solicitor's fees
• The freeholder's valuer's fees for his valuation only.
  If there is a Management Company or an intermediate landlord then there may be some fees payable in respect of these parties.
• Expenses, in particular Land Registry fees.
• If you are purchasing the freehold and it is more than £125,000 it will be liable for stamp duty.

Amending and Extend Your Lease
Once the purchase is complete you will still own a leasehold flat but you will also have a share in the Company that owns the freehold of the entire building.

Flat owners may wish to extend their lease length and reduce their ground rent to a peppercorn and possibly make other changes or modernisations to the existing lease.

There are 2 ways of doing this. By a simple Deed of Variation which does not alter any provision of the existing lease apart from the length and the ground rent, or alternatively a new long lease in modern form at a peppercorn ground rent could be drafted and granted.

Intro. Leasehold property

1. Purchasing the freehold

2. Extending your lease

>3. What will it cost?