Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my flat in Aldborough Hatch. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Aldborough Hatch.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Aldborough Hatch. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Aldborough Hatch should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• The total extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but may include a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Aldborough Hatch please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Aldborough Hatch

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Aldborough Hatch.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay the invoice 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Aldborough Hatch conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Aldborough Hatch conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Aldborough Hatch conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 500000 apartment in Aldborough Hatch next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Aldborough Hatch?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Aldborough Hatch conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Aldborough Hatch
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Aldborough Hatch leasehold premises is £350. For Aldborough Hatch 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 obliged to supply the information.

After months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Aldborough Hatch. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Aldborough Hatch conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Aldborough Hatch premises 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 the unexpired residue of the current lease was 61.36 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Aldborough Hatch - A selection of Queries before buying

On the whole the cost for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, although a few managing agents in Aldborough Hatch obliged leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance. Are there any major works in the planning that will likely add a premium to the service charges?