I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Eltham.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Eltham. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Eltham who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Eltham conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

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

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Eltham conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Eltham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What are the costs for lease extension work?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Eltham from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eltham can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• A minority of Eltham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to 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 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Eltham conveyancing transaction. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 150000 flat in Eltham in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Eltham?

For most leasehold sales in Eltham conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Eltham
• 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 Eltham leasehold premises is £350. For Eltham 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 answers.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Eltham conveyancing firm to assist?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Eltham premises is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Eltham - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The best form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders have control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the tenants?