Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Alston. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business
• You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• 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
• 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
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold house in Alston. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Alston who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Alston conveyancing practitioner 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 landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Alston where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Alston conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 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 disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Alston from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Alston can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Alston state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
• A minority of Alston leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Alston home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Alston what are the most common lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Alston is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Aldermore all have express 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, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Alston - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

Most Alston leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied by the landlord. If you purchase the property you will have to pay this charge, usually periodically during the year. This can vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?