I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in St Mary Cray. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in St Mary Cray - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Due to complete next month on a basement flat in St Mary Cray. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over a path or staircase?

You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

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

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

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

Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in St Mary Cray please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in St Mary Cray

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just 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 St Mary Cray. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in St Mary Cray ?

Most houses in St Mary Cray are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in St Mary Cray so you should seriously consider shopping around for a St Mary Cray conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

We expect to complete our sale of a £325000 apartment in St Mary Cray in 10 days. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in St Mary Cray?

St Mary Cray conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves fees being levied by freeholders :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in St Mary Cray
• 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 St Mary Cray leasehold property is £350. For St Mary Cray 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 obliged to supply answers.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a St Mary Cray conveyancing firm to represent me?

if there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a St Mary Cray flat is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 50.57 years.

Are there common problems that you see in leases for St Mary Cray properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in St Mary Cray. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in St Mary Cray