Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Sydenham. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Sydenham.

Due to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Sydenham. Conveyancing lawyers inform 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 Sydenham should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
• Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• 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?

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Sydenham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 be sure 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Sydenham conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sydenham conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Sydenham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Sydenham in the last twenty four months?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sydenham with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sydenham can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• A minority of Sydenham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Sydenham conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Sydenham conveyancing firm to help?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Sydenham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Sydenham premises is Flat 1 4 Border Crescent in March 2012. the Tribunal decided that the sum payable by the Applicants to the Respondent in respect of the new lease for the subject property should be £11,616.00 (ElevenThousand and Six Hundred and Sixteen Pounds) This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.04 years.

I inherited a basement flat in Sydenham, conveyancing formalities finalised 2006. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Sydenham with an extended lease are worth £245,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2105

You have 79 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.