My husband and I may need to let out our Bowes Park ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Bowes Park conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Bowes Park do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Bowes Park. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Bowes Park.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bowes Park with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bowes Park can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• A minority of Bowes Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Bowes Park conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 150000 flat in Bowes Park in seven days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bowes Park?

Bowes Park conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Bowes Park. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Bowes Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bowes Park premises is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 81.79 years.

What makes a Bowes Park lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bowes Park. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• 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

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Clydesdale 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, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Bowes Park Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

It is important to be aware whether changing the roof or some other significant cost is anticipated that will be shared amongst the tenants and will dramatically increase the the service charges or require a specific invoice. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?