I am hoping to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Coombe. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Coombe should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Coombe please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Coombe

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Coombe. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Coombe ?

The majority of houses in Coombe are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Coombe so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Coombe conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Coombe where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Coombe conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £325000 flat in Coombe on Monday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Coombe?

Coombe conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily necessitates fees being raised by freeholders :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Coombe
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Coombe leasehold property is £350. For Coombe 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.

I am the proprietor of a second floor flat in Coombe. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Coombe residence is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case was in relation to 4 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 98 years.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you encounter in leases for Coombe properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Coombe is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.