Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Penge. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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 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 lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Penge.

Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Penge. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Penge should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is 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
• The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might include a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Setting out your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Penge.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – 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 am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Penge both have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Penge is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 a residence 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 Penge conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 any new 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Penge. Am I liable to pay 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

I am the leaseholder of a two-bedroom flat in Penge. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Penge premises is Flats 5, 9, 38 & 40 Blakewood Court Anerley Park in January 2012. the tribunal held that the premiums payable for the new lease sare: FLAT 5:- £7,130 FLAT 9:- £7,860 FLAT 38:- £15,867 FLAT 40: £14,834 This case affected 4 flats.

Penge Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

Does the lease have onerous restrictions? It would be prudent to discover as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they will either make living at the property much easier or a lot more difficult. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Don't be afraid to ask other people whether they are happy with their service. In conclusion, find out the dates that the service fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending the funds. It is important to be aware whether window replacement or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared by the leasehold owners and may well materially increase the the service costs or necessitate a specific payment.