Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in East Twickenham. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in East Twickenham should include some of the following:

• Are pets allowed in the flat?

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

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in East Twickenham please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in East Twickenham

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in East Twickenham. 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in East Twickenham with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in East Twickenham can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? East Twickenham leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

A minority of East Twickenham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 buyers or their lawyers.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a East Twickenham conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £425000 maisonette in East Twickenham next week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in East Twickenham?

East Twickenham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily necessitates fees being invoiced by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in East Twickenham
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for East Twickenham leasehold property is £350. For East Twickenham 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 proprietor of a garden flat in East Twickenham. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a East Twickenham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a East Twickenham residence is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 60.45 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in East Twickenham what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in East Twickenham is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Barnsley Building Society, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in East Twickenham