Planning to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Harold Wood. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Harold Wood please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Harold Wood

I own a leasehold house in Harold Wood. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Harold Wood who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Harold Wood conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Harold Wood where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Harold Wood conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £150000 flat in Harold Wood in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Harold Wood?

Harold Wood conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in administration charges invoiced by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Harold 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 Harold Wood leasehold property is £350. For Harold 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 provide the information.

I inherited a ground flat in Harold Wood. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

Where there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Harold Wood premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.

What makes a Harold Wood lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Harold Wood. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses 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 premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Harold Wood