Due to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Hanworth. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Hanworth.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Hanworth. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Hanworth who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Hanworth conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Hanworth both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Hanworth is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 a residence 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 Hanworth 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 325000 apartment in Hanworth in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hanworth?

Hanworth conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the proprietor of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Hanworth. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hanworth property is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 82.93 years.

Hanworth Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually retained if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. How is the lease structured?