I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Thames View. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Thames View - 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.

Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Thames View. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• 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
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am attracted to a two flats in Thames View both have approximately fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Thames View. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Thames View with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Thames View can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Thames View levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Thames View.
• A minority of Thames View leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice 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 lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

After months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Thames View. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Thames View premises is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.36 years.

What makes a Thames View lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Thames View. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• 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

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Skipton Building Society, and Aldermore all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

I own a split level flat in Thames View, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2008. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Thames View with a long lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2084

With 58 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £23,800 and £27,400 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.