I only have Fifty years left on my flat in Brunswick Park. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that 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 demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Brunswick Park.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Brunswick Park.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

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 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've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Brunswick Park. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Brunswick Park ?

Most houses in Brunswick Park are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Brunswick Park in which case you should be looking for a Brunswick Park conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Brunswick Park from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brunswick Park can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Brunswick Park charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Brunswick Park.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Brunswick Park state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Brunswick Park home move. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £175000 garden flat in Brunswick Park on Wednesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Brunswick Park?

Brunswick Park conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves fees being raised by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Brunswick Park
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Brunswick Park leasehold premises is £350. For Brunswick Park 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 obliged to supply answers.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Brunswick Park conveyancing firm to assist?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Brunswick Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Brunswick Park property 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 the unexpired residue of the current lease was 70.31 years.