Expecting to complete next month on a leasehold property in Norbury. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Norbury. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Norbury are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Norbury in which case you should be looking for a Norbury conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Norbury. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Norbury who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Norbury conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Norbury. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Norbury where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Norbury conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

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

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Norbury property is Flat 12, Newlands Court Streatham Common North in May 2012. the decision of the Tribunal was that the premium payable by the Applicants to the Respondent for the new lease of the Premises be £70,140. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 23.25 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Norbury