I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Slade Green. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Slade Green - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am intending to rent out my leasehold flat in Slade Green. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Slade Green conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If the lease prohibits you from letting out the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Slade Green.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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've recently bought a leasehold flat in Slade Green. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Slade Green from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Slade Green can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Slade Green charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Slade Green.
• Some Slade Green leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 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 put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Slade Green home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Slade Green conveyancing firm to represent me?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to judgment on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Slade Green premises 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 was in relation to 13 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.

Slade Green Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

How much is the annual service fee and ground rent?