I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Whitton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I own a leasehold house in Whitton. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Whitton who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Whitton conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Whitton where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Whitton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Whitton with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Whitton can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Whitton state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.

I am the registered owner of a two-bedroom flat in Whitton. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount payable for a lease extension?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Whitton premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.45 years.

What are the common defects that you encounter in leases for Whitton properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Whitton is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• 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 as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.