Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Tooting Bec. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions) For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Tooting Bec please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Tooting Bec

I own a leasehold house in Tooting Bec. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Tooting Bec who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Tooting Bec conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Tooting Bec where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Tooting Bec conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Tooting Bec with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tooting Bec can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Tooting Bec charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tooting Bec.

A minority of Tooting Bec leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Tooting Bec conveyancing deal. If a reissued share is needed, 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 double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £500000 maisonette in Tooting Bec in just under a week. The management company has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Tooting Bec?

For most leasehold sales in Tooting Bec 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 enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Tooting Bec
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Tooting Bec leasehold property is £350. For Tooting Bec 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 the information.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Tooting Bec conveyancing firm to represent me?

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Tooting Bec flat is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 62.94 years.