I only have Seventy years left on my flat in Hadley Wood. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can 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 track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hadley Wood.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Hadley Wood both have about fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Hadley Wood conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hadley Wood conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Hadley Wood conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 150000 maisonette in Hadley Wood next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hadley Wood?

Hadley Wood conveyancing on leasehold flats often requires the buyer’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I own a two-bedroom flat in Hadley Wood. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Hadley Wood premises is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 76 years.

Are there frequently found defects that you see in leases for Hadley Wood properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hadley Wood is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, The Mortgage Works, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Hadley Wood, conveyancing having been completed in 2008. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Hadley Wood with a long lease are worth £210,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2097

You have 71 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.