I am hoping to complete next month on a leasehold property in Putney Vale. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Putney Vale should include some of the following:

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or working from home

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Putney Vale please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Putney Vale

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Putney Vale.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Putney Vale from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Putney Vale can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Putney Vale levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Putney Vale.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Putney Vale leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify 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.

We expect to complete our sale of a £350000 maisonette in Putney Vale in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Putney Vale?

Putney Vale conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily results in fees being levied by management companies :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Putney Vale
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Putney Vale leasehold premises is £350. For Putney Vale 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 answers.

I am the registered owner of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Putney Vale. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Putney Vale property is 158 West Hill in November 2010. the Tribunal held that the premium to be paid for the freehold reversion should be £99,650 This case affected 7 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 75.88 years.

Are there frequently found deficiencies that you come across in leases for Putney Vale properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Putney Vale. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions 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 provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Putney Vale