There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Bellingham. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Bellingham.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in Bellingham. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Bellingham which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I work for a busy estate agency in Bellingham where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Bellingham conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 expect to complete the disposal of our £ 225000 maisonette in Bellingham next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Bellingham?

Bellingham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in seeking a lease extension in Bellingham. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bellingham flat is 75 Woolstone Road in February 2012. the decision of the Tribunal was that the appropriate amount to be paid to purchase the freehold was the sum of £17,711 . This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 68.28 and 158.

I own a garden flat in Bellingham, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2002. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Bellingham with a long lease are worth £203,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2083

With just 57 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £24,700 and £28,600 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.