There are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Morden Park. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Morden Park.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Morden Park.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Morden Park which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Morden Park is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises 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 premises 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 Morden Park 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Morden Park conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Morden Park conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Morden Park conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Morden Park in the last twenty four months?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Morden Park who can give a testimonial?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 175000 apartment in Morden Park next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Morden Park?

Morden Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £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 invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Following years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Morden Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Morden Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Morden Park residence is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.43 years.

Morden Park Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

You should want to discover as much as you can about the company managing the building as they can either make living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other people if they are happy with their service. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes. How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment?