There are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Hermitage. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Hermitage.

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Hermitage.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Hermitage. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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).

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Hermitage conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hermitage conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Hermitage conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• How many lease extensions have they carried out in Hermitage in the last year?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 450000 apartment in Hermitage in nine days. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Hermitage?

For most leasehold sales in Hermitage conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Hermitage
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hermitage leasehold property is £350. For Hermitage conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Hermitage Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Can you inform me if there are any major works on the horizon that will increase the maintenance charges? Make sure you enquire if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Hermitage leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Hermitage. If you love the flatin Hermitage but your cat can’t move with you then you will be presented with a hard compromise. Where a Hermitage lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the premises for 24 months before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension.