shamelessly posting this in 2 places at once- hope this is allowed
The lease on my flat is very low - c. 60 years. (My fault as I bought 20 years ago- although I do wonder why I wasn't warned it was relatively low when I bought it as a clueless younger person but that's beside the point).
Flat needs updating really & won't sell for a great price even with an extended lease.
Money is an issue for me even in terms of solicitors fees, so my first question is:
Can solicitor's fees be paid in full on sale of the property, along with payment of lease extension? (I'm aware I also have to pay freeholder's solicitor fees.)
My second question is more complicated. Essentially, the freeholder has not really fulfilled their duties over the years. E.g. communal hallway needs decorating & updating - nothing has ever been done. It's a fairly old converted house with 5 flats - freeholders live in one of them. When this was brought up (years ago) they said it's the leaseholder's responsibility. I believe this is not what it says in the lease.
The outside of the building looks scruffy and I think it's also their responsibility to keep it in reasonable condition. All of this I presume affects the value of the flats.
Maintenance per flat has been £80 per month for some years (it was £40 previously).
A few years ago, someone else in the building extended their lease for £10k which was a similar length to mine. I'm wondering:
Could the freeholder's lack of upkeep of the building (and therefore legitimate use of maintenance money) be used as leverage (via a solicitor) to negotiate a relatively low lease extension cost? (I think the seller I've just referred to may have done this?).
Can anyone recommend a service/solicitor to deal with this - the lower the cost the better (obviously not to the detriment of good service)? I'm not even sure if it would have to be local (?) but if so, I'm in Hampshire/Dorset area.
Thanks in advance for any info or insights you might be able to share 🙏