Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Forest Hill. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Forest Hill both have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Forest Hill. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Forest Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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 ensure 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Forest Hill where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Forest Hill conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is 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 before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Forest Hill state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
• Some Forest Hill leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I own a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Forest Hill. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Forest Hill property 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 related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.81 years.

I purchased a studio flat in Forest Hill, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2001. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Forest Hill with over 90 years remaining are worth £198,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2077

With just 51 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.