Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Charterhouse. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold house in Charterhouse. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Charterhouse who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Charterhouse conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Charterhouse both have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Charterhouse where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Charterhouse conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Charterhouse with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Charterhouse can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Charterhouse charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Charterhouse.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Charterhouse leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
• Some Charterhouse leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

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

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Charterhouse conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Charterhouse property is Flat 89 Trinity Court Grays Inn Road in February 2013. the Tribunal found that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 to the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 should be £36,229. This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 66.8 years.

Charterhouse Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

You should be aware that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the salability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Charterhouselease extensions you would need to own the premises for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?