You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in South Norwood. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or working from home
• You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in South Norwood please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in South Norwood

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in South Norwood. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in South Norwood are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in South Norwood in which case you should be shopping around for a South Norwood conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I own a leasehold flat in South Norwood. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in South Norwood who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a South Norwood conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in South Norwood where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local South Norwood conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 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.

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 purchaser.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 450000 flat in South Norwood next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in South Norwood?

For most leasehold sales in South Norwood conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

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

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

We have reached the end of our tether in seeking a lease extension in South Norwood. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a South Norwood conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Norwood flat is Flats 55, 67 & 70 Melbourne Court Anerley Road in July 2013. The tribunal calculated that the premium for the extended lease at £48,366.00 for at 55, and £88,329.00 for ats 67 and 70 combined. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 26.38 years.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in South Norwood, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in South Norwood with over 90 years remaining are worth £170,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2083

With just 57 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £21,900 and £25,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.