Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Belmont. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Belmont who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Belmont conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two flats in Belmont both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Belmont is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 property 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 Belmont conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Belmont from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Belmont can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Belmont state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
• Some Belmont leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Belmont home move. Where a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 250000 apartment in Belmont in seven days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Belmont?

Belmont conveyancing on leasehold flats typically involves fees being levied by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Belmont
• 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 Belmont leasehold premises is £350. For Belmont 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 provide answers.

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

if 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 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Belmont property is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.43 years.

What are the common defects that you come across in leases for Belmont properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Belmont is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I own a ground floor flat in Belmont, conveyancing formalities finalised 1996. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Belmont with over 90 years remaining are worth £243,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2101

You have 75 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.