Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Dartmouth Park. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Dartmouth Park - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Dartmouth Park. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Dartmouth Park.

Looking forward to complete next month on a basement flat in Dartmouth Park. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Dartmouth Park both have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Dartmouth Park is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, 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 Dartmouth Park 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 200000 flat in Dartmouth Park next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Dartmouth Park?

Dartmouth Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be willing to assist. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I own a second floor flat in Dartmouth Park. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Dartmouth Park flat is Flat 2 27 Mackeson Road in December 2012. The Tribunal assessed the value of the lease extension premium at £35,435 and rounded the figure to £35,500 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 64.77 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Dartmouth Park - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying

You will want to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make life much simpler or a lot more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters like the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people if they are happy with them. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the relevant party and specifically what it includes. Many Dartmouth Park leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the landlord. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, usually in instalments throughout the year. This can vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.