Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Kew. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Kew - 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 found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Kew. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Kew are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Kew in which case you should be shopping around for a Kew conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Kew where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Kew conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kew with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kew can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Kew levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kew.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Kew leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
• Some Kew leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 250000 garden flat in Kew in 5 days. The managing agents 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 exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Kew?

Kew conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I own a basement flat in Kew. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kew residence is Flat 1 30 Ennismore Avenue in September 2010. the Tribunal adopted and arrived at a premium for the lease extension of £29, 900 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 68.34 years.

Kew Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying