There are only 72 years left on my lease in Old Oak Common. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations 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 property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Old Oak Common.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Old Oak Common.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Old Oak Common. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Old Oak Common levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought 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 usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Old Oak Common.
• Some Old Oak Common leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Old Oak Common home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 150000 maisonette in Old Oak Common on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Old Oak Common?

Old Oak Common conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates administration charges levied by management companies :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Old Oak Common
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Old Oak Common leasehold property is £350. For Old Oak Common conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

I am the proprietor of a second floor flat in Old Oak Common. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Old Oak Common residence is 49 Long Drive in March 2014. The tribunal concluded that the price payable for the freehold interest in the Property should be £26,491 divided as to £12,546 in respect of the ground floor flat and £13,945 in respect of the
first floor flat This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 68.47 years.

Old Oak Common Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Many Old Oak Common leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the management company. Should you purchase the property you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly accross the year. This could differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant figure, say around £25-£75 but you should to enquire as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive. What prohibitions are contained in the Old Oak Common Lease?