I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Addiscombe. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Addiscombe - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Addiscombe.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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 attracted to a two apartments in Addiscombe which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Addiscombe is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 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 Addiscombe 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 any new 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 employed by a long established estate agency in Addiscombe where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Addiscombe conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 buyer.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 225000 apartment in Addiscombe in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Addiscombe?

Addiscombe conveyancing on leasehold apartments often involves the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be content to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Addiscombe conveyancing firm to represent me?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Addiscombe premises is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case was in relation to 4 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 98 years.

Addiscombe Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Generally speaking the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Addiscombe ask tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works.