I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Merton Park. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Merton Park - 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 Seventy years left on my flat in Merton Park. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Merton Park.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold house in Merton Park. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Merton Park who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Merton Park conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Merton Park. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. 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 provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Merton Park from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Merton Park can be avoided 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 buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Merton Park state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
• Some Merton Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Merton Park conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• 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 purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Merton Park conveyancing firm to help?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Merton Park premises is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 62.94 years.

I purchased a garden flat in Merton Park, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2001. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Merton Park with an extended lease are worth £269,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease expires on 21st October 2105

With just 79 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £10,500 and £12,000 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.