I only have 62 years remaining on my lease in Walthamstow Village. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If 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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Walthamstow Village.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Walthamstow Village. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Walthamstow Village are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Walthamstow Village so you should seriously consider looking for a Walthamstow Village conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Walthamstow Village which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Walthamstow Village is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 premises 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 Walthamstow Village conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £ 450000 apartment in Walthamstow Village next Monday . The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Walthamstow Village?

Walthamstow Village conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves fees being raised by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Walthamstow Village
• 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 Walthamstow Village leasehold premises is £350. For Walthamstow Village 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 obliged to provide the information.

My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Walthamstow Village. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Walthamstow Village property is 32 Howard Road in June 2012. the Tribunal held that premium payable for the freehold reversion should be £35,825 This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 64 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Walthamstow Village what are the most common lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Walthamstow Village is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I invested in buying a basement flat in Walthamstow Village, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2010. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Walthamstow Village with a long lease are worth £230,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2097

With just 71 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.