I only have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Sands End. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Sands End.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Sands End.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Sands End. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Sands End who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Sands End conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Sands End. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 350000 maisonette in Sands End in nine days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Sands End?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Sands End conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Sands End
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Sands End leasehold property is £350. For Sands End 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 required to provide answers.

I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Sands End. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Sands End conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Sands End flat is 29 Sisters Avenue in April 2013. The Tribunal camme to the conclusion that the entire freehold should be transferred by the landlord to the nominee purchaser. The price to be paid was the sum of £53,527. This had been arrived at by applying a deferment rate of 5.25% to the freehold reversion and relativity of 95.4% to the leasehold values. This case affected 4 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 85.78 years.

Sands End Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

Make sure you find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Sands End. If you like the flatin Sands End however your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise. Best to be warned whether changing the roof or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared by the leasehold owners and may well materially increase the the maintenance fees or require a specific payment.