Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Hampton Wick. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Wick should include some of the following:

• Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Hampton Wick please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Hampton Wick

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Hampton Wick. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Hampton Wick are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Hampton Wick in which case you should be looking for a Hampton Wick conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Wick with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Wick can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• Some Hampton Wick leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (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 lawyers.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 over as opposed to ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Hampton Wick home move. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £325000 maisonette in Hampton Wick on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Hampton Wick?

Hampton Wick conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily involves fees being raised by managing agents :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Hampton Wick
• 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 Hampton Wick leasehold property is £350. For Hampton Wick 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 supply the information.

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

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Hampton Wick conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Hampton Wick premises is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case related to 1 flat.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Wick what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Wick. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions 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, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hampton Wick