I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Woodford Green. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Woodford Green - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I only have 68 years remaining on my lease in Woodford Green. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Woodford Green.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Woodford Green. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Woodford Green who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Woodford Green conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Woodford Green where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Woodford Green conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 275000 maisonette in Woodford Green on Thursday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Woodford Green?

Woodford Green conveyancing on leasehold apartments often involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Woodford Green. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Woodford Green premises is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 69.26 years.

I bought a ground floor flat in Woodford Green, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2004. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Woodford Green with a long lease are worth £176,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2102

With 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.