I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Kingston Vale. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Kingston Vale - 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 only have Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Kingston Vale. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Kingston Vale.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Kingston Vale.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge 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 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kingston Vale with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingston Vale can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Kingston Vale leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord 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 flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Kingston Vale conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 450000 apartment in Kingston Vale next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Kingston Vale?

Kingston Vale conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Kingston Vale. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for a lease extension?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Kingston Vale premises is 19 St. Margarets Crescent in August 2010. the tribunal was of the view that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder for the freehold reversion was £51,983.00 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 66.25 years.

Kingston Vale Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Please note that where the lease has less than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Kingston Valelease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for two years before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension. Are there any major works anticipated that will add a premium to the maintenance fees? This question is useful as a) areas can result in problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have all the details