Planning to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Mortlake. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

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

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

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Mortlake please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Mortlake

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Mortlake.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – 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 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Mortlake with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Mortlake can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Mortlake leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.

A minority of Mortlake leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 purchasers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £125000 garden flat in Mortlake next week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Mortlake?

For most leasehold sales in Mortlake conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Mortlake
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Mortlake leasehold property is £350. For Mortlake 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 obliged to supply the information.

Following months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Mortlake. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Mortlake conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Mortlake 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 unexpired lease term was 66.25 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Mortlake what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Mortlake is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• 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 can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Mortlake