Planning to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Benfleet. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Defining your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Benfleet. Do I have any liability for 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 lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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 Benfleet where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Benfleet conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £300000 garden flat in Benfleet in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Benfleet?

Benfleet conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What makes a Benfleet lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Benfleet is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements 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

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd 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 is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Benfleet - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Best to be warned if a new roof is being put on or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared between the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance fees or result in a specific payment. Make sure you investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Benfleet leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Benfleet. If you love the apartmentin Benfleet yet your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise. You should be aware if it is no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. For most Benfleetlease extensions you would need to own the residence for two years before you are entitled to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Benfleet