I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Pratt's Bottom.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear the invoice 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 own a leasehold house in Pratt's Bottom. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Pratt's Bottom who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Pratt's Bottom conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Pratt's Bottom. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Pratt's Bottom charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Pratt's Bottom leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.

Some Pratt's Bottom leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

Completion in due on our sale of a £425000 flat in Pratt's Bottom on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Pratt's Bottom?

For most leasehold sales in Pratt's Bottom conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Pratt's Bottom
• 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 Pratt's Bottom leasehold premises is £350. For Pratt's Bottom 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.

Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Pratt's Bottom. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Pratt's Bottom conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Pratt's Bottom flat is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 50.57 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pratt's Bottom