I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Downham.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Downham. 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 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).

I work for a busy estate agent office in Downham where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Downham conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Downham with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Downham can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Downham leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
• Some Downham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Downham conveyancing deal. Where a new share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I inherited a two-bedroom flat in Downham. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Downham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Downham flat is Ravensbourne Lodge 4 Highland Road in February 2013. the Tribunal held that the amount payable for the freehold was £22,268

What are the common deficiencies that you see in leases for Downham properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Downham. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in 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 premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Downham, conveyancing formalities finalised 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Downham with over 90 years remaining are worth £189,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2096

You have 70 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.