I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Canning Town.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 looking at a couple of maisonettes in Canning Town both have about 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Canning Town. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Canning Town. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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 provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Canning Town from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Canning Town can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Canning Town levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Canning Town.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £175000 garden flat in Canning Town next Monday . The management company has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Canning Town?

Canning Town conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

We have reached the end of our tether in negotiating a lease extension in Canning Town. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Canning Town premises is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.77 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Canning Town