Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Bexleyheath. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

The physical extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but may include a loft or basement if appropriate.

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

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 Bexleyheath please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Bexleyheath

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Bexleyheath.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Bexleyheath. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Bexleyheath who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Bexleyheath conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Bexleyheath levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Bexleyheath leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Bexleyheath home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider 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 £125000 flat in Bexleyheath in 10 days. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Bexleyheath?

Bexleyheath conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily involves administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bexleyheath
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bexleyheath leasehold property is £350. For Bexleyheath 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 supply the information.

After months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bexleyheath. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bexleyheath flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bexleyheath