I have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my lease in Belsize Park. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Belsize Park.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Belsize Park.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 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.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Belsize Park. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Belsize Park ?

Most houses in Belsize Park are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Belsize Park in which case you should be looking for a Belsize Park conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority 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 such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Belsize Park. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Belsize Park who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact 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 Belsize Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Belsize Park conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Belsize Park conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Belsize Park conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Belsize Park in the last twenty four months?

Having spent months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Belsize Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Belsize Park residence is First Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 16.83 and 16.43.

Belsize Park Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

This question is useful as a) areas can result in problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have complete disclosure It would be a good idea to investigate if the the lease contains any adverse restrictions in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Belsize Park leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Belsize Park. If you like the flatin Belsize Park however your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice. Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared between the leaseholders and may well dramatically impact the level of the service charges or necessitate a specific invoice.