Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Welling.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Welling. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Welling who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Welling conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

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

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Welling can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Welling state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. If you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.

Some Welling 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 financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Welling conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £125000 apartment in Welling in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Welling?

Welling conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically involves fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Welling
• 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 Welling leasehold property is £350. For Welling 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 to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Welling conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Welling residence is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case affected 1 flat.

What makes a Welling lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Welling is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Welling