Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Plumstead. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Plumstead - 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.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Plumstead.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Plumstead from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Plumstead can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Plumstead leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.

A minority of Plumstead leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (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 you have had 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 reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Plumstead home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £350000 maisonette in Plumstead on Wednesday in a week. The management company has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Plumstead?

Plumstead conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times necessitates administration charges levied by management companies :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Plumstead
• 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 Plumstead leasehold property is £350. For Plumstead 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 the information.

I am the leaseholder of a basement flat in Plumstead. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Plumstead residence is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case related to 1 flat.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Plumstead what are the most common lease defects?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Plumstead