I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in North East London.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in North East London. Conveyancing and TSB mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in North East London who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a North East London conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in North East London which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £400000 maisonette in North East London next week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in North East London?

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

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in North East London
• 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 North East London leasehold property is £350. For North East London 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 supply the information.

What are the common defects that you come across in leases for North East London properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in North East London is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. 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 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 will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Aldermore 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 is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

North East London Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Please note that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. For most North East Londonlease extensions you would be required to have owned the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. The answer will be important as a) areas can result in problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have all the details

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in North East London