I own a leasehold house in Grove Park. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Grove Park who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Grove Park conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Grove Park which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Grove Park. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Grove Park where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Grove Park conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Grove Park conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Grove Park conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Grove Park conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Grove Park who can give a testimonial?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 475000 maisonette in Grove Park on Monday in a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Grove Park?

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

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Grove Park
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Grove Park leasehold premises is £350. For Grove 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 supply answers.

I am the proprietor of a garden flat in Grove Park. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?

if there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, 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 judgment on the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Grove Park premises is 49 Woodstock Court Burnt Ash Hill in May 2012. the payment of £64,116 by the leaseholder was the premium which the Tribunal found due for the lease extension in this case. This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 23.26 years.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Grove Park - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

It would be wise to find out as much as you can about the managing agents as they will either make life much simpler or uncomfortable. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day matters like the upkeep of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants what they think of their service. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically what it includes.