I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Plaistow.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

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

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Plaistow. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Plaistow ?

The majority of houses in Plaistow are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Plaistow so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Plaistow conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Plaistow. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Plaistow where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Plaistow conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £ 500000 maisonette in Plaistow next Wednesday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Plaistow?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Plaistow conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Plaistow
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Plaistow leasehold premises 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 supply answers.

I am the proprietor of a ground floor flat in Plaistow. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price payable.

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

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

You should be aware if it is fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. For most Plaistowlease extensions you would need to own the premises for two years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Does the lease have onerous restrictions?