Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in East Dulwich. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in East Dulwich - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in East Dulwich.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear the invoice 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 am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in East Dulwich which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in East Dulwich with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East Dulwich can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in East Dulwich state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.

A minority of East Dulwich leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a East Dulwich home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £325000 maisonette in East Dulwich in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in East Dulwich?

East Dulwich conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates fees being levied by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in East Dulwich
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 East Dulwich leasehold premises is £350. For East Dulwich 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 required to provide the information.

I am the proprietor of a garden flat in East Dulwich. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a East Dulwich premises is Flat 1 40-42 Ewelme Road in August 2012. the Tribunal assessed the premium for the lease extension in the sum of £11,800 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.81 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in East Dulwich