You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

I am hoping to complete next month on a basement flat in Mortlake. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. 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
• The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but might include a loft or cellar if applicable.
• 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
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Mortlake please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Mortlake

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Mortlake both have in the region of forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Mortlake from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Mortlake can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Mortlake leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and pay 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Mortlake home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 425000 maisonette in Mortlake on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Mortlake?

For the majority of 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 :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Mortlake
• Supplying insurance information
• 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.

After months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Mortlake. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Mortlake conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Mortlake flat 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.

What are the frequently found defects that you come across in leases for Mortlake properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Mortlake is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• 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 problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd 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 is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Mortlake, conveyancing having been completed 2006. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Mortlake with over 90 years remaining are worth £237,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2092

With 66 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.