I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Haggerston.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 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 today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Haggerston. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Haggerston are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Haggerston in which case you should be looking for a Haggerston conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Haggerston. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Haggerston where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Haggerston conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Following years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Haggerston. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Haggerston flat is 137 & 139 Haberdasher Street in December 2013. The Tribunal determines in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease for each Property should be £12,350.00. This case related to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.39 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Haggerston what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Haggerston is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I inherited a garden flat in Haggerston, conveyancing having been completed 1996. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Haggerston with a long lease are worth £231,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2099

With 73 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.