Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Wembley. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Wembley.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Wembley.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Wembley which have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Wembley. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 450000 flat in Wembley next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Wembley?

Wembley conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not necessitates 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 are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

After years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Wembley. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Wembley residence is Ground Floor Flat 79 London Road in September 2012. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension should be £7,636 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 74 years.

What makes a Wembley lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Wembley is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland 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, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Wembley Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? This information is useful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will need to know about it It would be wise to find out as much as possible regarding the company managing the building as they will either make living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours whether they are happy with them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending that money.