Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my lease in Lower Clapton. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. On the whole a specialist may be useful 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 property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Lower Clapton.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Lower Clapton. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Lower Clapton are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Lower Clapton so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Lower Clapton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• A minority of Lower Clapton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Lower Clapton home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 475000 apartment in Lower Clapton next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Lower Clapton?

Lower Clapton conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

After years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Lower Clapton. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Lower Clapton conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Lower Clapton residence is 104 Nightingale Road in May 2009. The Tribunal's Decision is that the premium torbe paid for the enfranchisement in this case is £112,174 This case was in relation to 10 flats. The unexpired lease term was 71.25 years.

What makes a Lower Clapton lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Lower Clapton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

What restrictions are there in the Lower Clapton Lease? The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy control and even though a managing agent is frequently retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.