I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in North East London. 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 North East London should include some of the following:

• Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I own a leasehold flat in North East London. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in North East London who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a North East London conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in North East London which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in North East London. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part 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).

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in North East London what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in North East London is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses 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 parts of the premises
• 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. Halifax, The Mortgage Works, and Nottingham Building Society 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in North East London - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

The answer will be useful as a) areas could result in problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to have complete disclosure