Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Addington. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Addington - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Addington. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• 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.
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I work for a long established estate agent office in Addington where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Addington conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Addington conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Addington conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Addington conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Addington who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Addington from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Addington can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Addington state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
• A minority of Addington leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Addington home move. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Addington conveyancing firm to represent me?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Addington conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Addington premises is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76.75 and 88.83.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Addington - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

The majority of Addington leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building set by the landlord. Where you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this charge, normally in instalments throughout the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a significant amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive.