Planning to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Slade Green. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the property, or working from home
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• 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.
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Slade Green which have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Slade Green. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Slade Green. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element 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 am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Slade Green where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Slade Green conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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.

After months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Slade Green. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Slade Green conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Slade Green residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Slade Green what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Slade Green is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Bank of Scotland, and Aldermore all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Slade Green Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying