There are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Merton Park. I now wish 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 for permission 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 done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare 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 both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Merton Park.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Merton Park. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• 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

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Merton Park. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Merton Park ?

The majority of houses in Merton Park are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Merton Park in which case you should be looking for a Merton Park conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Merton Park where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Merton Park conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 375000 apartment in Merton Park in six days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Merton Park?

Merton Park conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the buyer’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Merton Park conveyancing firm to help?

if there is a missing landlord or if 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 calculate the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Merton Park property 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 62.94 years.

Merton Park Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

The answer will be important as a) areas could result in problems in the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the running of the building you will need to know about it Be sure to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Merton Park leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Merton Park. If you like the propertyin Merton Park but your cat is not allowed to live with you then you have a very hard compromise. Can you tell me if there are any major works in the planning that will increase the maintenance charges?