My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Seven Kings. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Seven Kings who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Seven Kings conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Seven Kings both have about 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Seven Kings is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Seven Kings conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Seven Kings conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Seven Kings conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Seven Kings conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Seven Kings in the last twenty four months?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Seven Kings who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Seven Kings with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Seven Kings can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Seven Kings charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Seven Kings.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Seven Kings leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• Some Seven Kings 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Seven Kings conveyancing deal. Where a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 275000 maisonette in Seven Kings next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Seven Kings?

For most leasehold sales in Seven Kings conveyancing will involve, questions about 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 Seven Kings
• 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 Seven Kings leasehold property is £350. For Seven Kings 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 supply the information.

Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Seven Kings. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Seven Kings conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Seven Kings property is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 61.36 years.

I invested in buying a split level flat in Seven Kings, conveyancing having been completed in 2010. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Seven Kings with a long lease are worth £235,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079

With only 53 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £33,300 and £38,400 plus legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.