Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Sydenham Hill. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

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 Sydenham Hill please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Sydenham Hill

I've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Sydenham Hill. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Sydenham Hill are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Sydenham Hill so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Sydenham Hill conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Sydenham Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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 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 a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Sydenham Hill where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Sydenham Hill conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Completion in due on our sale of a £375000 flat in Sydenham Hill next week. The management company has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Sydenham Hill?

Sydenham Hill conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Sydenham Hill
• 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 Sydenham Hill leasehold premises is £350. For Sydenham Hill 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 required to provide answers.

Following months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Sydenham Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Sydenham Hill premises is Flat 1 4 Border Crescent in March 2012. the Tribunal decided that the sum payable by the Applicants to the Respondent in respect of the new lease for the subject property should be £11,616.00 (ElevenThousand and Six Hundred and Sixteen Pounds) This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 72.04 years.