I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in New Addington. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in New Addington - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 62 years unexpired on my flat in New Addington. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing New Addington.

I have just started marketing my basement flat in New Addington.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in New Addington both have about forty five years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in New Addington. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in New Addington from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in New Addington can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in New Addington levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Addington.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? New Addington leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a New Addington home move. If a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

After years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in New Addington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a New Addington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a New Addington premises is The Woodlands 95 Purley Park Road in April 2009. The Tribunals own valuation produced the fi
gure of £37,912. This case affected 6 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 78.32 years.

I invested in buying a garden flat in New Addington, conveyancing formalities finalised 6 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in New Addington with an extended lease are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease expires on 21st October 2092

With only 66 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.