Looking forward to complete next month on a garden flat in Worcester Park. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable.

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

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 For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Worcester Park please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Worcester Park

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Worcester Park. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Worcester Park who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Worcester Park conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Worcester Park conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Worcester Park conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Worcester Park conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Worcester Park in the last twenty four months?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Worcester Park from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Worcester Park can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Worcester Park charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover 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 frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Worcester Park.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Worcester Park home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £275000 flat in Worcester Park next Monday . The managing agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Worcester Park?

For most leasehold sales in Worcester Park conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Worcester Park
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Worcester Park leasehold property is £350. For Worcester 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 provide the information.

Following years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Worcester Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Worcester Park conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Worcester Park premises is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 60.43 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Worcester Park