I only have Seventy years left on my flat in Sydenham Hill. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Sydenham Hill.

You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Due to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Sydenham Hill. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sydenham Hill should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The physical extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a loft or cellar if appropriate.
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Sydenham Hill please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Sydenham Hill

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Sydenham Hill. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. 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 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Sydenham Hill who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Sydenham Hill conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Sydenham Hill both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Sydenham Hill is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under 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 premises 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 a residence 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 Sydenham Hill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Sydenham Hill conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sydenham Hill conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Sydenham Hill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Sydenham Hill who can give a testimonial?

I have had difficulty in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Sydenham Hill. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Sydenham Hill residence is Flat 1 4 Border Crescent in March 2012. the Tribunal decided that the sum payable by the Applicants to the Respondent in respect of the new lease for the subject property should be £11,616.00 (ElevenThousand and Six Hundred and Sixteen Pounds) This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.04 years.

Sydenham Hill Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?