I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Lee. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

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

I only have 68 years remaining on my flat in Lee. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Lee.

Planning to complete next month on a studio apartment in Lee. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Lee should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a loft or basement if applicable.

Are pets allowed in the flat?

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Lee please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Lee

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lee with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lee can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Lee charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lee.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Lee leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £325000 apartment in Lee in just under a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Lee?

Lee conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges raised by freeholders :

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

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Lee leasehold premises is £350. For Lee 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 provide the information.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Lee. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Lee flat is 18 Handen Road in April 2013. On 26 October 2012 District Judge Zimmels sitting at the Lambeth County Court made a Vesting Order that the Applicants be granted the right to acquire the freehold upon such terms and at such price determined by the LVT. The Tribunal arrived a figure of £39,535 as a valuation for the enfranchisement. This case was in relation to 3 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 69.05 years.