Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Parsons Green. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Parsons Green - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Parsons Green. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or working from home
• 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
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Parsons Green.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 unless 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 am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Parsons Green which have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Parsons Green is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 property 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 Parsons Green 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

I am the leaseholder of a two-bedroom flat in Parsons Green. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Parsons Green flat is 66 and 66a Wardo Avenue in November 2012. The Tribunal determined that the sum of £8,048 is payable by the Applicants in respect of the price for the freehold of the property This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 93 years and 162 years.

What makes a Parsons Green lease unmortgageable?

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

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed 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 defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Parsons Green Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

How long is the Lease? Most Parsons Green leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally periodically during the year. This can be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire as on occasion it can be surprisingly expensive.