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North Woolwich leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in North Woolwich. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but could also include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • 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
  • 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
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in North Woolwich please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in North Woolwich

    • I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in North Woolwich.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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 work for a long established estate agent office in North Woolwich where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local North Woolwich conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

    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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in North Woolwich from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in North Woolwich can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in North Woolwich charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in North Woolwich.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in North Woolwich state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease 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 the disposal of our £175000 maisonette in North Woolwich in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in North Woolwich?

    North Woolwich conveyancing on leasehold apartments often involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be content to assist. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

    I have given up seeking a lease extension in North Woolwich. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to calculate the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a North Woolwich property is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 69.77 years.