I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Shepherd's Bush. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Shepherd's Bush should include some of the following:

• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Shepherd's Bush. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Shepherd's Bush are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Shepherd's Bush in which case you should be shopping around for a Shepherd's Bush conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with 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 with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Shepherd's Bush. 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 be sure 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Shepherd's Bush where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Shepherd's Bush conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

I own a a ground floor purpose built flat in Shepherd's Bush. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Shepherd's Bush conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Shepherd's Bush flat is 82 Minford Gardens in February 2009. The Tribunal determined that the enfranchisement price was £37,341 This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.92 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Shepherd's Bush what are the most common lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Shepherd's Bush. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses 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 building
• 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Shepherd's Bush