While many solicitors will be technically qualified to help with leasehold enfranchisement, you may opt for a firm or individual experienced in the area. The Association of Leasehold Enfranchisement Practitioners (ALEP) vets members to establish their pedigree, so look for the ALEP logo or look up a member on the website at www.alep.org.uk.

You will need the services of a surveyor as part of the valuation exercise. Again, valuing a freehold or lease extension is a highly specialist area. Don’t feel obliged to use a local surveyor.

Many projects fail, money is lost, costs escalate and frustrations rise among neighbours when flat owners try to coordinate a project themselves. Consider using an experienced enfranchisement manager. They can help keep down costs, keep the project on track and have done this many times before.

Check the professionals’ pedigree. Ask to speak to satisfied customers, examine their accreditations and consider how many other blocks they have worked with and their customer service commitments.

Make contact

Don’t use the first adviser or professional you speak to. Make the effort to contact three and ensure they have the same values as you, that they understand your preferences and that you are satisfied with their prices and fee structures.

The temptation may be to learn all there is to know about leasehold enfranchisement first. Certainly you can find out a lot on the Leasehold Advisory Service website (www.lease-advice.org) or read several of the excellent books on the subject. It is at worthwhile to equip yourself with a basic understanding, at least to appreciate the critical deadlines that must not be missed, the most common cause of failure of enfranchisement projects.

But you may be better asking yourself whether you want your neighbours ringing you at all hours to ask about progress with the project and being blamed for every little holdup engineered by an obstructive freeholder! If the project is to succeed, make sure you retain the best advisers you can afford.

COMMENT FROM RICS:

The experience of RICS members is that enfranchising a block of flats can be a long and painful experience, sometimes caused by the complexity of the process and the advisers to the freeholder. It is important to get the right advice at the outset. Chartered surveyors who are experienced in this area of work can help lessees with many aspects of enfranchisement, not just the valuation. They can advise on the basic requirements, and on whether the block and the lessees will pass the tests laid down by in the Act. They can also recommend the most cost-effective process; advise on the likely cost, the opening offer, and negotiate the price payable; and can negotiate an equitable apportionment of the costs and
professional fees.

David Tuffin, President, RICS

COMMENT FROM THE LAW SOCIETY:

Buying a property of any kind is a big commitment, so it is essential you get it right. Using a solicitor when buying any freehold is a must. Solicitors are a safe bet when it comes to handling the conveyancing process from start to finish. From checking all the relevant documents, handling searches, through to completion, the solicitor will be able to advise, assist and explain any problems along the way and take on much of the work for you.
“Solicitors are essential in enfranchisement. The collective nature of the interests and liabilities involved can make it a more complicated process with the potential for problems arising being high. Solicitors can ensure those problems are kept to a minimum and they can act as the point of contact for queries and concerns raised by those involved, rather than leaving that responsibility to one of the parties to handle.”

Andrew Holroyd, Law Society President