Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in St James.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in St James which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in St James is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with St James conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a St James conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a St James conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non St James conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What are the charges for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in St James with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St James can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in St James levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St James.
• A minority of St James leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a St James home move. Where a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 450000 flat in St James in six days. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in St James?

St James conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

After years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in St James. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

if there is a missing freeholder or where 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a St James property is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case related to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 56 years.

I purchased a ground floor flat in St James, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent properties in St James with an extended lease are worth £165,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2093

With only 67 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. Do 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 you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.