I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my flat in Grange Park. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Grange Park.

Due to exchange soon on a basement flat in Grange Park. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The physical extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but might include a roof space or basement if applicable.

Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?

Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or working from home

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Grange Park please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Grange Park

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Grange Park. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Grange Park ?

Most houses in Grange Park are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Grange Park in which case you should be looking for a Grange Park conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. 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 estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Grange Park from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Grange Park can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Grange Park levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Grange Park.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Grange Park leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 as opposed to unsettled.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £225000 garden flat in Grange Park on Thursday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Grange Park?

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

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Grange Park
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Grange Park leasehold premises is £350. For Grange 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 provide the information.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Grange Park conveyancing firm to represent me?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Grange Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Grange Park premises is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 81.79 years.

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Lease Extensions in Grange Park