Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Isleworth. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Isleworth - 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.

There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Isleworth. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Isleworth.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Isleworth. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. 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 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Isleworth who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Isleworth conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

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

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. 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 am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Isleworth where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Isleworth conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

I have given up seeking a lease extension in Isleworth. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Isleworth conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Isleworth premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.45 years.

Isleworth Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the leaseholders? You should be aware that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Isleworthlease extensions you will need to own the premises for 24 months before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension.