Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Erith. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Erith - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Erith.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

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 managing agents 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Erith. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Erith are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Erith in which case you should be shopping around for a Erith conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Erith both have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Erith. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Erith with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Erith can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Erith state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• A minority of Erith 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 obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict 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 ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Erith home move. Where a reissued share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Having spent months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Erith. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Erith conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Erith premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The unexpired term was 76 years.

Erith Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

Best to be warned if window replacement or some other major work is due in the near future that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and could well dramatically increase the the service costs or require a specific invoice.