Due to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Ladywell. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Ladywell should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or working from home

Repair and maintenance of the flat

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Ladywell please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Ladywell

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Ladywell.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Ladywell both have in the region of forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Ladywell. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ladywell from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ladywell can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Ladywell levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ladywell.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Ladywell state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing 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 completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 historic 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 via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £275000 apartment in Ladywell next Thursday . The management company has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Ladywell?

Ladywell conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually results in fees being levied by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Ladywell
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Ladywell leasehold property is £350. For Ladywell conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

I am the leaseholder of a first floor flat in Ladywell. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute 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 arrive at the price.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Ladywell premises is 44 Elmer Road in January 2013. The Tribunal dacied that amount to be paid by the Leaseholders for the Landlords freehold reversion was £12,951 as at the valuation date (20" September 2012).This matter was referred back to the Bromley County Court to deal with costs, fees and any other outstanding matters. This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 74.25 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Ladywell