I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Greenford. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Greenford - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I only have 72 years unexpired on my flat in Greenford. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Greenford.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Greenford which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Greenford. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Greenford. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I own a garden flat in Greenford. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement 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 make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a lease Extension decision for a Greenford property is 25 Beechwood Avenue in November 2012. the Tribunal accordingly determined that the premium for the lease extension should be £24,353. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 58.19 years.

What makes a Greenford lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Greenford. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I bought a basement flat in Greenford, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Greenford with over 90 years remaining are worth £240,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2093

With 67 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £15,200 and £17,600 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.