I’m about to sell my basement flat in Bickley.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

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

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Bickley both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Bickley. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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 be sure 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bickley from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bickley can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Bickley leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
• Some Bickley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Bickley home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 475000 apartment in Bickley next Monday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bickley?

For most leasehold sales in Bickley conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Bickley
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Bickley leasehold property is £350. For Bickley 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 the information.

Having spent years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bickley. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Bickley premises is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 50.57 years.

Bickley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

It would be sensible to find out as much as possible about the company managing the building as they can either make your life much easier or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money.