I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Forest Hill. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Forest Hill are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Forest Hill in which case you should be shopping around for a Forest Hill conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Forest Hill. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Forest Hill where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Forest Hill conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Forest Hill conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Forest Hill conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Forest Hill conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Forest Hill in the last twenty four months?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• A minority of Forest Hill leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes 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 reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Forest Hill home move. If a duplicate share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Forest Hill. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Forest Hill property is Flat 1 40-42 Ewelme Road in August 2012. the Tribunal assessed the premium for the lease extension in the sum of £11,800 This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 61.81 years.

Forest Hill Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that could add a premium to the service costs?