Looking forward to exchange soon on a garden flat in Chislehurst. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or working from home
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Chislehurst. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Chislehurst who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Chislehurst conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Chislehurst both have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Chislehurst is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Chislehurst conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Chislehurst conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Chislehurst conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Chislehurst conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Chislehurst who can give a testimonial?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 150000 apartment in Chislehurst next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Chislehurst?

Chislehurst conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be content to assist. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

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

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Chislehurst conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Chislehurst flat is 70 Andace Park Gardens 133-149 Widmore Road in November 2013. Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the lease extension was £10,052 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72 years.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Chislehurst, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Equivalent flats in Chislehurst with a long lease are worth £240,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2105

With 79 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.