Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my lease in Greenford. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Greenford.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Greenford. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Greenford are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Greenford so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Greenford conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Greenford. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 work for a busy estate agency in Greenford where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Greenford conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner 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 start 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Greenford from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Greenford can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Greenford charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Greenford.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Greenford state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Greenford conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in negotiating a lease extension in Greenford. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

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

An example of a lease Extension case for a Greenford residence is 25 Beechwood Avenue in November 2012. the Tribunal accordingly determined that the premium for the lease extension should be £24,353. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 58.19 years.

Greenford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

It would be wise to discover as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they can either make life much easier or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters like the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants what they think of them. Finally, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money. Best to be warned if fixing the lift or some other major work is due shortly to be shared by the tenants and could well dramatically increase the the service fees or require a specific payment. Many Greenford leasehold flats will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied by the freeholder. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this liability, normally periodically accross the year. This could differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, normally this is not a large sum, say around £50-£100 but you need to check it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.