Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Wormwood Scrubs - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Wormwood Scrubs both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Wormwood Scrubs. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Wormwood Scrubs. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 500000 garden flat in Wormwood Scrubs next Wednesday . The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Wormwood Scrubs?

Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates fees being levied by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Wormwood Scrubs
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Wormwood Scrubs leasehold premises is £350. For Wormwood Scrubs 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 required to provide answers.

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

in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Wormwood Scrubs premises is 23 & 23A Collingbourne Road in June 2013. Tribunal was dealing with the assessment of the value of the freehold reversion and determination of the terms of the acquisition pursuant to an Order of District Judge Lightman dated 25 February 2013 vesting the freehold interest in the property in the applicant. The tribunal assessed the price of the freehold (to which any arrears or other sums due to the missing landlord under the leases should be added) at £81,638. This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 64.5 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs what are the most frequent lease defects?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• 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

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Wormwood Scrubs, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Wormwood Scrubs with an extended lease are worth £200,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2102

With 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.