My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Upton Park. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Upton Park who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Upton Park conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Upton Park both have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Upton Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Upton Park with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Upton Park can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Upton Park levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Upton Park.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Upton Park leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Upton Park home move. Where a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 450000 flat in Upton Park next week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Upton Park?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Upton Park 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 pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Upton Park
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Upton Park leasehold premises is £350. For Upton Park 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 had difficulty in seeking a lease extension in Upton Park. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Upton Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Upton Park flat is 46 Credon Road in January 2014. On 11 September 2013 Deputy District Judge Price sitting at the Bow County Court made a vesting order that the freeholder surrender his lease and be granted a new lease of the Premises on such terms as may be determined by the First Tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).The appropriate sum as concluded by the Tribunal was £7225 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 69.77 years.

Upton Park Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?