You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Abbey Wood. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a loft or basement if applicable.
• You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• 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?
• 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
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Abbey Wood please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Abbey Wood

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Abbey Wood.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Abbey Wood. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

Completion in due on our sale of a £ 500000 garden flat in Abbey Wood next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Abbey Wood?

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

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Abbey Wood
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Abbey Wood leasehold property is £350. For Abbey Wood 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 obliged to supply answers.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Abbey Wood conveyancing firm to represent me?

Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Abbey Wood conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Abbey Wood property is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Abbey Wood what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Abbey Wood. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Abbey Wood Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing