I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Nunhead.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Nunhead. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Nunhead conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Nunhead conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Nunhead conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?

If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Nunhead with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Nunhead can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Nunhead leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Nunhead conveyancing deal. Where a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage 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.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £150000 flat in Nunhead in 10 days. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Nunhead?

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

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Nunhead
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Nunhead leasehold premises is £350. For Nunhead 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 required to provide answers.

I own a ground flat in Nunhead. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Nunhead premises 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 remaining number of years on the lease was 80.01 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Nunhead