Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Roehampton. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Roehampton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Roehampton both have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Roehampton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Roehampton conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Roehampton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 375000 maisonette in Roehampton on Friday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Roehampton?

Roehampton conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

I inherited a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Roehampton. 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 can put you in touch with a Roehampton conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Roehampton residence is 19 St. Margarets Crescent in August 2010. the tribunal was of the view that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder for the freehold reversion was £51,983.00 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The unexpired term was 66.25 years.

I bought a leasehold flat in Roehampton, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Roehampton with over 90 years remaining are worth £243,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2083

With just 57 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £24,700 and £28,600 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.