Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in West Wickham. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in West Wickham should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or working from home
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

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

The sensible thing to do is 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 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 a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in West Wickham where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local West Wickham conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

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.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 275000 garden flat in West Wickham next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in West Wickham?

West Wickham conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in West Wickham. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a West Wickham conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Wickham residence is 26 Manor Road in July 2010. the Tribunal decided that price to be paid for the freehold was £12,420 This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76.75 and 88.83.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in West Wickham what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in West Wickham. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I bought a 1 bedroom flat in West Wickham, conveyancing was carried out 7 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in West Wickham with over 90 years remaining are worth £188,000. The ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2098

You have 72 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.