Planning to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Sutton. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sutton should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but may include a loft or cellar if appropriate.

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Sutton please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Sutton

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Sutton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge 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 management companies 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 am looking at a couple of flats in Sutton both have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Sutton is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. 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 a residence 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 Sutton 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sutton with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sutton can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Sutton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sutton.

A minority of Sutton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any 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 solicitors.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Sutton conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £375000 maisonette in Sutton on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Sutton?

Sutton conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in administration charges invoiced by management companies :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Sutton
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Sutton leasehold property is £350. For Sutton 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 attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Sutton conveyancing firm to help?

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

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Sutton property is Buchanan Court 39 Vernon Road in April 2010. the Tribunal assessed that the premium payable for the freehold of the block should be £44,000. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 66.67 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sutton