Due to exchange soon on a basement flat in Limehouse. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Limehouse 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 not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Limehouse.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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 managing agents 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.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Limehouse which have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Limehouse is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Limehouse conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Limehouse with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Limehouse can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• A minority of Limehouse leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing 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 settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Limehouse conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore 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 premises on the market for sale.

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

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Limehouse conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Limehouse flat is 26 Rhondda Grove in June 2009. The net price payable by the leaseholders as determined by the Tribunal was £3,015.13. This comprised £11,300 premium for the reversion less £8,284.87 costs as ordered by the County Court.

What makes a Limehouse lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Limehouse. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Limehouse Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before buying