There are only 62 years left on my flat in Wealdstone. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Wealdstone.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Wealdstone. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Wealdstone ?

Most houses in Wealdstone are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Wealdstone in which case you should be looking for a Wealdstone conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Wealdstone. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 ensure 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Wealdstone leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
• A minority of Wealdstone leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to 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 able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Wealdstone conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 425000 garden flat in Wealdstone in six days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Wealdstone?

Wealdstone conveyancing on leasehold apartments often requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

After months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Wealdstone. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to calculate the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Wealdstone property is 139/139A Masons Avenue in February 2010. this was a case with an absentee freeholder. As a result the leaseholders applied to Willesden County Court for an order dispensing with the giving of a notice of claim.14th October 2009 District Judge Brar granted a vesting order and the court directed that the matter should be transferred to this tribunal to determine the freehold premium. The tribunal concluded on a fi
gure of £13,000 for the freehold interest This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 74 years.

Wealdstone Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

What is the length of the lease?