I have just started marketing my basement flat in Blackheath.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Blackheath. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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).

I work for a long established estate agency in Blackheath where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Blackheath conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Blackheath with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Blackheath can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Blackheath charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out 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 Blackheath.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Blackheath leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• A minority of Blackheath leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 225000 flat in Blackheath on Tuesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Blackheath?

Blackheath conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries 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 required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Blackheath. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Blackheath conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Blackheath property is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72 years.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Blackheath, conveyancing having been completed in 1995. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar properties in Blackheath with an extended lease are worth £250,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2082

With just 56 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £30,400 and £35,200 plus costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.