I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Blackfen. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Blackfen - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Blackfen. I now want 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 apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Blackfen.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Blackfen.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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 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 am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Blackfen where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Blackfen conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 175000 flat in Blackfen in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Blackfen?

Blackfen conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

I have given up negotiating a lease extension in Blackfen. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Blackfen flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat.

I inherited a split level flat in Blackfen, conveyancing was carried out 2011. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Blackfen with a long lease are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2086

With just 60 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £21,900 and £25,200 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.