I’m about to sell my basement flat in Plaistow.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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. 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 tick a lot of boxes, 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 purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Plaistow. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Plaistow ?

The majority of houses in Plaistow are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Plaistow so you should seriously consider looking for a Plaistow conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Plaistow which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Plaistow. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 250000 apartment in Plaistow in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Plaistow?

Plaistow conveyancing on leasehold apartments nine out of ten times results in fees being levied by freeholders :

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

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Plaistow leasehold property is £350. For Plaistow 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 obliged to provide the information.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Plaistow. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the premium.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Plaistow flat is Ravensbourne Lodge 4 Highland Road in February 2013. the Tribunal held that the amount payable for the freehold was £22,268

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Plaistow what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Plaistow is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• 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 problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Plaistow Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Be sure to discover if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Plaistow leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Plaistow. If you like the apartmentin Plaistow however your dog can’t make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice. You should be aware that where the lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the residence for two years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension.