I am hoping to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Woodford. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Woodford should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but might include a roof space or basement if applicable.
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am looking at a two apartments in Woodford which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Woodford is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Woodford conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Woodford conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Woodford conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Woodford conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

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

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woodford can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Woodford charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woodford.
• Some Woodford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 buyers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict 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 flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Woodford home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

We have reached the end of our tether in negotiating a lease extension in Woodford. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to assess the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Woodford flat is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69.26 years.

Are there common defects that you encounter in leases for Woodford properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Woodford. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions 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 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

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, The Mortgage Works, 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 problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Woodford Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the building? Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared amongst the leaseholders and may well materially increase the the maintenance charges or result in a one time payment.