I own a leasehold flat in Penge. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Penge who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Penge conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a two flats in Penge both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Penge is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with less than 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 property 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Penge. 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. 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 work for a reputable estate agent office in Penge where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Penge conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Following months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Penge. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Penge residence 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 was in relation to 4 flats.

What makes a Penge lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Penge is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, The Mortgage Works, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I purchased a basement flat in Penge, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Penge with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2102

With 76 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.