Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Bromley. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. 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 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Bromley.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Bromley.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance 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 managing agents 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Bromley. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Bromley are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Bromley in which case you should be shopping around for a Bromley conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Bromley both have about forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Bromley. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bromley with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bromley can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Bromley leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.

Following years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bromley. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Bromley conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Bromley property is 70 Andace Park Gardens 133-149 Widmore Road in November 2013. Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extension was £10,052 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72 years.