I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Botany Bay. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Botany Bay.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Botany Bay. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Botany Bay.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you 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 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 attracted to a two apartments in Botany Bay which have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Botany Bay where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Botany Bay conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

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

in cases where 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 you can apply to the LVT to decide the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Botany Bay residence is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.31 years.