I only have Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Colliers Wood. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. 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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Colliers Wood.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Colliers Wood. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Colliers Wood please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Colliers Wood

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Colliers Wood where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Colliers Wood conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Colliers Wood from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Colliers Wood can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Colliers Wood levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Colliers Wood.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Colliers Wood state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’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 consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in Colliers Wood. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Colliers Wood conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Colliers Wood property is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 62.94 years.

Are there common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Colliers Wood properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Colliers Wood. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Colliers Wood, conveyancing formalities finalised 4 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Colliers Wood with over 90 years remaining are worth £204,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2095

You have 69 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.