I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Stratford. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Stratford - 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Stratford conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Stratford conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Stratford conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stratford from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stratford can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• A minority of Stratford leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to 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 financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Stratford conveyancing deal. Where a new share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £ 400000 flat in Stratford in 8 days. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Stratford?

For most leasehold sales in Stratford conveyancing will involve, questions about 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 Stratford
• 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 Stratford leasehold property is £350. For Stratford 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 provide the information.

I am the proprietor of a second floor flat in Stratford. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Stratford property is 12 Nutfield Road in July 2014. the Tribunal judged that the price to be paid by the applicants for the freehold interest should be £19,572 This case related to 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 72.02 years.

What makes a Stratford lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Stratford. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• 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 can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Barnsley Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I invested in buying a garden flat in Stratford, conveyancing having been completed 6 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Stratford with an extended lease are worth £247,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2090

With only 64 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £16,200 and £18,600 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.