I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Welling. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Welling - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Welling. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or staircase?

Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or working from home

You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

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 a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Welling please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Welling

I am looking at a couple of flats in Welling both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Welling is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under 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 property 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 Welling conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £350000 flat in Welling in 8 days. The landlords agents has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Welling?

Welling conveyancing on leasehold flats nine out of ten times involves administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Welling
• 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 Welling leasehold premises is £350. For Welling 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 have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Welling conveyancing firm to assist?

Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement 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 assess the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Welling flat is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case related to 1 flat.

Are there frequently found problems that you see in leases for Welling properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Welling is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Coventry Building Society, and TSB 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Welling