Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Ladywell. I need to extend my lease but my landlord 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Ladywell.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Ladywell which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Ladywell is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 property 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 Ladywell conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Ladywell where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Ladywell conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 need not have to sit tight for 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Ladywell conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Ladywell conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Ladywell conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 425000 apartment in Ladywell on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Ladywell?

Ladywell conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Ladywell conveyancing firm to help?

if there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Ladywell property is 44 Elmer Road in January 2013. The Tribunal dacied that amount to be paid by the Leaseholders for the Landlords freehold reversion was £12,951 as at the valuation date (20" September 2012).This matter was referred back to the Bromley County Court to deal with costs, fees and any other outstanding matters. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 74.25 years.

Ladywell Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Can you tell me if there are any major works in the planning that will add a premium to the service charges? The answer will be useful as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to have complete disclosure Plenty Ladywell leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the landlord. Where you acquire the flat you will have to meet this charge, normally quarterly throughout the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.