I am looking at a couple of apartments in South Croydon both have approximately 50 years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in South Croydon is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than 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 property 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 property 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 South Croydon conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in South Croydon. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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 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 South Croydon where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local South Croydon conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in South Croydon with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Croydon can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in South Croydon state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.

Some South Croydon leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a South Croydon home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £125000 maisonette in South Croydon in 8 days. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in South Croydon?

For the majority of leasehold sales in South Croydon conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in South Croydon
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for South Croydon leasehold premises is £350. For South Croydon 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.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a South Croydon conveyancing firm to assist?

Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a South Croydon conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a South Croydon property is The Woodlands 95 Purley Park Road in April 2009. The Tribunals own valuation produced the fi
gure of £37,912. This case affected 6 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 78.32 years.