There are only 68 years left on my flat in Aston. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Aston.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Aston.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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 am attracted to a two maisonettes in Aston both have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Aston. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Aston from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Aston can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Aston levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Aston.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Aston state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder 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 concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £150000 apartment in Aston in 10 days. The management company has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Aston?

Aston conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates fees being raised by management companies :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Aston
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Aston leasehold premises is £350. For Aston 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.

Aston Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Does the lease include onerous restrictions? You will want to find out as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will either make your life much simpler or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other people whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and precisely how they are spending the funds. What is the name of the managing agents?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Aston