I have just started marketing my garden flat in Upminster Bridge.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Upminster Bridge where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Upminster Bridge conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence 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 buyer need not have 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 simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Upminster Bridge conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Upminster Bridge conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Upminster Bridge conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Upminster Bridge from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Upminster Bridge can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Upminster Bridge levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Upminster Bridge.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Upminster Bridge home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary 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 by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £175000 flat in Upminster Bridge in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Upminster Bridge?

For most leasehold sales in Upminster Bridge conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Upminster Bridge
• 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 Upminster Bridge leasehold premises is £350. For Upminster Bridge 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 the information.

Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Upminster Bridge. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Upminster Bridge premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 57.5 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Upminster Bridge