Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Addington. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Addington.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Addington. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Addington are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Addington in which case you should be looking for a Addington conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Addington both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Addington is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 property 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 Addington conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Addington where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Addington conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, 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 buyer.

I inherited a basement flat in Addington. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case 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 was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76.75 and 88.83.