I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in East Bedfont - 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.

There are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in East Bedfont. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be useful 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 property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering East Bedfont.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in East Bedfont. Conveyancing lawyers assured me 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 East Bedfont should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in East Bedfont please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in East Bedfont

I am attracted to a two apartments in East Bedfont which have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in East Bedfont. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

All being well we will complete our sale of a £450000 flat in East Bedfont in seven days. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in East Bedfont?

For the majority of leasehold sales in East Bedfont conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in East Bedfont
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for East Bedfont leasehold property is £350. For East Bedfont 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 the information.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a East Bedfont conveyancing firm to help?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a East Bedfont conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a East Bedfont flat is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 82.93 years.