Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Harold Wood. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Harold Wood - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Harold Wood. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. 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 employed by a long established estate agent office in Harold Wood where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Harold Wood conveyancing solicitors. Could 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 owned the lease 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 375000 apartment in Harold Wood in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Harold Wood?

Harold Wood conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

I own a garden flat in Harold Wood. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Harold Wood property is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 57.5 years.

What are the frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Harold Wood properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Harold Wood is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Barnsley Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Harold Wood - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

What is the name of the managing agents?