I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Upper Norwood.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered 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 Upper Norwood. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Upper Norwood are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Upper Norwood in which case you should be looking for a Upper Norwood conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Upper Norwood both have about 50 years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I work for a long established estate agent office in Upper Norwood where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Upper Norwood conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Upper Norwood from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Upper Norwood can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Upper Norwood charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have 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 delay in leasehold conveyancing in Upper Norwood.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Upper Norwood leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property 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 ahead of 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We have reached the end of our tether in negotiating a lease extension in Upper Norwood. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Upper Norwood flat is Flats 55, 67 & 70 Melbourne Court Anerley Road in July 2013. The tribunal calculated that the premium for the extended lease at £48,366.00 for at 55, and £88,329.00 for ats 67 and 70 combined. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 26.38 years.

I bought a studio flat in Upper Norwood, conveyancing having been completed 1998. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Upper Norwood with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2099

With just 73 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.