You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Greenford. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• The physical extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but may incorporate a loft or basement if applicable.
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the property, or working from home
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Greenford please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Greenford

I own a leasehold house in Greenford. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Greenford who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Greenford conveyancing lawyer 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 rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Greenford both have in the region of forty five years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Greenford is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises 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 premises 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 Greenford conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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 any new 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 am employed by a long established estate agent office in Greenford where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Greenford conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 275000 apartment in Greenford next week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Greenford?

Greenford conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically results in fees being raised by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Greenford
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Greenford leasehold premises is £350. For Greenford 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 obliged to provide answers.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate 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 Greenford conveyancing firm to help?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Greenford conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Greenford property is 25 Beechwood Avenue in November 2012. the Tribunal accordingly determined that the premium for the lease extension should be £24,353. This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 58.19 years.

Greenford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

What is the service charge and ground rent on the property? Does the lease have onerous restrictions?