Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Pimlico. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Pimlico should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Pimlico.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance 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 managing agents 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Pimlico. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Pimlico are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Pimlico in which case you should be shopping around for a Pimlico conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Pimlico where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Pimlico conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Having spent years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Pimlico. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Pimlico property is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 56 years.

Are there frequently found deficiencies that you come across in leases for Pimlico properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Pimlico. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pimlico