Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in South Wimbledon. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in South Wimbledon should include some of the following:

• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• 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

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in South Wimbledon.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 managing agents 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 attracted to a couple of apartments in South Wimbledon which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in South Wimbledon is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 a residence 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 South Wimbledon conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

I work for a long established estate agent office in South Wimbledon where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local South Wimbledon conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £ 400000 apartment in South Wimbledon on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in South Wimbledon?

South Wimbledon conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in South Wimbledon. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a South Wimbledon conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a South Wimbledon property is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 62.94 years.

I acquired a studio flat in South Wimbledon, conveyancing formalities finalised 1998. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in South Wimbledon with a long lease are worth £247,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease ends on 21st October 2102

With just 76 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as legals.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.