Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Aldborough Hatch. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Aldborough Hatch.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Aldborough Hatch. Conveyancing lawyers have said 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 Aldborough Hatch should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Aldborough Hatch.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Aldborough Hatch. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Aldborough Hatch are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Aldborough Hatch in which case you should be shopping around for a Aldborough Hatch conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Aldborough Hatch. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

Following years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Aldborough Hatch. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 61.36 years.