Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Beacontree Heath. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Beacontree Heath.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Beacontree Heath. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Beacontree Heath are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Beacontree Heath so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Beacontree Heath conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Beacontree Heath which have about 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Beacontree Heath is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Beacontree Heath conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

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

In a situation 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 ensure 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 employed by a busy estate agent office in Beacontree Heath where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Beacontree Heath conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Beacontree Heath. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Beacontree Heath residence is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 61.36 years.

Beacontree Heath Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

What is the service charge and ground rent on the apartment? Make sure you discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance it is very common in Beacontree Heath leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Beacontree Heath. If you love the apartmentin Beacontree Heath however your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice. Most Beacontree Heath leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block set on behalf of the freeholder. Where you buy the flat you will have to meet this liability, usually periodically accross the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.