Planning to complete next month on a garden flat in Nunhead. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The physical extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but might incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
• Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
• You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Nunhead.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Nunhead both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Nunhead is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty 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 Nunhead conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Nunhead from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Nunhead can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Nunhead state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• A minority of Nunhead leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. 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 ahead of 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important 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.

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 450000 flat in Nunhead next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Nunhead?

Nunhead conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I am the leaseholder of a second floor flat in Nunhead. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Nunhead conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Nunhead residence is 41 Endwell Road in March 2013. this matter relateed to the acquisition of the freehold of a mid- terraced Victorian house converted into three separate self-contained dwellings. By an order dated 28/11/2012, Deputy District Judge Cole in the Bromley County Court held that the leaseholders were entitled to acquire the freehold and directed that the premium payable be determined by this Tribunal. The Tribunal assessed the premium to be £14,753 This case affected 3 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.01 years.

I acquired a 1st floor flat in Nunhead, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1998. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Nunhead with a long lease are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084

With just 58 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £21,900 and £25,200 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.