I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my flat in Ponders End. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Ponders End.

Due to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Ponders End. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?

Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home

Repair and maintenance of the flat

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Ponders End please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Ponders End

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Ponders End.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 managing agents 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ponders End from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ponders End can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Ponders End charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ponders End.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Ponders End state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.

Some Ponders End leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £300000 apartment in Ponders End in just under a week. The management company has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Ponders End?

For most leasehold sales in Ponders End conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Ponders End
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ponders End leasehold property is £350. For Ponders End 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 required to supply answers.

Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Ponders End. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Ponders End conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold decision for a Ponders End premises is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.01 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ponders End