You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

I am hoping to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Perivale. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Perivale please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Perivale

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Perivale.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

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

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Perivale conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Perivale conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Perivale in the last 12 months?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Perivale with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Perivale can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Perivale charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought 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 Perivale.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Perivale state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• Some Perivale leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 300000 maisonette in Perivale in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Perivale?

Perivale conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times results in administration charges invoiced by freeholders :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Perivale
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Perivale leasehold premises is £350. For Perivale 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.

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

Where there is a missing freeholder or if 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the sum to be paid.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Perivale flat is Ground Floor Flat 79 London Road in September 2012. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension should be £7,636 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 74 years.

I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Perivale, conveyancing formalities finalised 9 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Perivale with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2093

With just 67 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.