Looking forward to complete next month on a garden flat in West Green. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or working from home
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• 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

I have just started marketing my garden flat in West Green.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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 management companies 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've recently bought a leasehold property in West Green. Am I liable to pay 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 owner 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 agent office in West Green where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local West Green conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start 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 buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 200000 apartment in West Green next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in West Green?

West Green conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

After years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Green. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Green residence is 61 Clinton Road in April 2012. Following a vesting order Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 on 5th July 2011 the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £17,000 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 73.88 years.

West Green Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

What is the annual service fee and ground rent? Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the block?