Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Petersham. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Petersham - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Petersham. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Petersham.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Petersham which have about forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Petersham conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Petersham conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Petersham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

I own a a ground floor purpose built flat in Petersham. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Petersham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Petersham residence is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.45 years.

What makes a Petersham lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Petersham. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Petersham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Please inform me if there are any major works anticipated that will likely increase the service fees? Where a Petersham lease has less than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. How much is the ground rent and service charge?