Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Ealing. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Ealing.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 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've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Ealing. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Ealing ?

The majority of houses in Ealing are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Ealing in which case you should be looking for a Ealing conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Ealing. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Ealing who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Ealing conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Ealing both have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Ealing is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 a residence 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 Ealing 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.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Ealing conveyancing firm to assist?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to assess the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Ealing premises is Flat 4 38 The Mall in April 2014. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension to be £25,451 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 68.7 years.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Ealing, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Ealing with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2089

With only 63 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £19,000 and £22,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.