Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Battle. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Battle - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Battle.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Battle where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Battle conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Battle conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Battle conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Battle conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £150000 maisonette in Battle next Thursday . The freeholder has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Battle?

Battle conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

Battle Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Where a Battle lease has less than 80 years it will impact the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the residence for a couple of years before you are entitled to exercise a lease extension. Generally speaking the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Battle ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Battle