Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Bankside. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

The total extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but may incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.

Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?

Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

Repair and maintenance of the flat For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Bankside please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Bankside

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Bankside.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Bankside. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

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

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Bankside conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Bankside conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £150000 apartment in Bankside in 8 days. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bankside?

Bankside conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times necessitates administration charges raised by managing agents :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bankside
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Bankside leasehold premises is £350. For Bankside 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 obliged to provide answers.

After years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bankside. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Bankside premises is 1-41 Royal Tower Lodge 40 Cartwright Street in April 2013. the tribunal adding the agreed value of capitalised ground rents and the reversion the price to be paid for the freehold was £1,187,000 This case was in relation to 41 flats. The unexpired term was 107 years.