Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Oakleigh Park. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Oakleigh 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 have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Oakleigh Park. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Oakleigh Park.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Oakleigh Park.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Oakleigh Park. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 Oakleigh Park with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Oakleigh Park can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Oakleigh Park charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Oakleigh Park.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Oakleigh Park conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

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

Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Oakleigh Park property is Flat 2 2 Netherfield Road in April 2010. The Tribunale held that premium payable for a 90 year extension to the existing Lease should be £7,705. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Oakleigh Park, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Oakleigh Park with an extended lease are worth £174,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2086

With 60 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £22,800 and £26,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.