I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Homerton. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Homerton - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in Homerton. Conveyancing lawyers have said 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 Homerton should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Homerton. 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. 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 work for a busy estate agency in Homerton where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Homerton conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Homerton from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Homerton can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Homerton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Homerton.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Homerton state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• A minority of Homerton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Homerton home move. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Homerton. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Homerton conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Homerton residence is 104 Nightingale Road in May 2009. The Tribunal's Decision is that the premium torbe paid for the enfranchisement in this case is £112,174 This case was in relation to 10 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71.25 years.

I acquired a studio flat in Homerton, conveyancing having been completed 2004. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Homerton with an extended lease are worth £227,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2095

You have 69 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £13,300 and £15,400 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.