I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Kensal Green. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Kensal Green.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Kensal Green both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Kensal Green is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Kensal Green conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Kensal Green. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. A critical element 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).

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Kensal Green conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kensal Green conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Kensal Green conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kensal Green with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kensal Green can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Kensal Green charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kensal Green.

Having spent years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Kensal Green. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Kensal Green conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kensal Green premises is 85A Chevening Road in August 2013. the Tribunals conclusions resulted in a payment of a premium for the new lease in the sum of £11,211 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 84.34 years.