Looking forward to exchange soon on a garden flat in Sidcup. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sidcup should include some of the following:

• The physical extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but may incorporate a loft or cellar if appropriate.
• Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Sidcup. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Sidcup who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Sidcup 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 legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Sidcup where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Sidcup conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Sidcup conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sidcup conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Sidcup conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Sidcup who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sidcup from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sidcup can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Sidcup charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for 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 reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sidcup.
• Some Sidcup leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents 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 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Sidcup home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Having spent months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Sidcup. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

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

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Sidcup property 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.

Sidcup Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing