There are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Tooting Bec. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Tooting Bec.

Expecting to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Tooting Bec. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Tooting Bec.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Tooting Bec. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Tooting Bec ?

Most houses in Tooting Bec are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Tooting Bec so you should seriously consider looking for a Tooting Bec conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am looking at a two apartments in Tooting Bec both have about forty five years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Tooting Bec. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

After years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Tooting Bec. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Tooting Bec flat is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 62.94 years.