I have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my flat in Bexley. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder 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 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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Bexley.

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

I am hoping to complete next month on a basement flat in Bexley. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bexley should include some of the following:

• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• 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
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Bexley please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Bexley

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Bexley conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Bexley conveyancing practice) it is essential 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 Bexley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Bexley who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bexley from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bexley can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Bexley charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bexley.
• A minority of Bexley 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. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 150000 flat in Bexley on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Bexley?

Bexley conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily involves administration charges levied by management companies :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bexley
• 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 Bexley leasehold property is £350. For Bexley 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 required to provide answers.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Bexley conveyancing firm to help?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Bexley conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Bexley residence is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.

Bexley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

You should want to find out as much as you can about the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Ask other tenants what they think of them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and precisely what it includes. If a Bexley lease has less than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for two years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension. It would be prudent to find out if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. By way of example it is fairly common in Bexley leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Bexley. If you love the propertyin Bexley yet your cat can’t live with you then you will be faced hard decision.