Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Chislehurst. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Chislehurst.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Chislehurst. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.
• Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Chislehurst both have about 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Chislehurst is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Chislehurst conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Chislehurst. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Chislehurst conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Chislehurst conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Chislehurst conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

I own a first flat in Chislehurst. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Chislehurst residence 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72 years.

I invested in buying a ground floor flat in Chislehurst, conveyancing was carried out 4 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Chislehurst with over 90 years remaining are worth £263,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2087

With just 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £24,700 and £28,600 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.