Due to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Brunswick Park. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may include a roof space or basement if applicable.
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Brunswick Park. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Brunswick Park ?

The majority of houses in Brunswick Park are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Brunswick Park in which case you should be shopping around for a Brunswick Park conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am attracted to a two flats in Brunswick Park both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Brunswick Park. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Brunswick Park. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. However, 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).

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 375000 garden flat in Brunswick Park in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Brunswick Park?

Brunswick Park conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

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

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Brunswick Park flat is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.31 years.

I bought a leasehold flat in Brunswick Park, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2001. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Brunswick Park with over 90 years remaining are worth £181,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2091

With just 65 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as costs.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.