I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Kew. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Kew.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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 until 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kew from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kew can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Kew state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• Some Kew leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents 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 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 lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 325000 maisonette in Kew on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Kew?

Kew conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally requires the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

Following years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Kew. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Kew conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 68.34 years.

What makes a Kew lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Kew. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Virgin Money, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I bought a split level flat in Kew, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1998. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Kew with an extended lease are worth £178,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2100

With only 74 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.