I have recently realised that I have 72 years unexpired on my flat in Addington. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Addington.

Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Addington. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Addington should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Addington. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Addington are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Addington in which case you should be shopping around for a Addington conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Addington which have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Addington is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, 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 premises 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 Addington conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 the agreed 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Addington from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Addington can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Addington levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Addington.

We have reached the end of our tether in seeking a lease extension in Addington. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Addington premises is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76.75 and 88.83.