Due to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Biggleswade. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

The physical extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but could also incorporate a roof space or basement if applicable.

You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Biggleswade please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Biggleswade

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Biggleswade.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 managing agents 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Biggleswade conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Biggleswade conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Biggleswade conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Biggleswade in the last twenty four months?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Biggleswade from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Biggleswade can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• Some Biggleswade leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 purchasers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 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 unsettled.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Biggleswade conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £125000 flat in Biggleswade next week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Biggleswade?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Biggleswade conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Biggleswade
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Biggleswade leasehold premises is £350. For Biggleswade 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 answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Biggleswade - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Where a Biggleswade lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out what this will be. For most Biggleswadelease extensions you will be required to have been the owner of the premises for two years before you are entitled to extend the lease. You should want to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of their service. In conclusion, be sure you know the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the appropriate party and precisely how they are spending the funds. The best form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Biggleswade