Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Bishops Cleeve. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or staircase?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

Repair and maintenance of the flat

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 details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Bishops Cleeve please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Bishops Cleeve both have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. 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 as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Bishops Cleeve levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve.

Some Bishops Cleeve leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Bishops Cleeve conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £275000 garden flat in Bishops Cleeve on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Bishops Cleeve?

For most leasehold sales in Bishops Cleeve 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 pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Bishops Cleeve
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bishops Cleeve leasehold premises is £350. For Bishops Cleeve 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 supply answers.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Cleeve. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts 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 could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Britannia 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, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Bishops Cleeve Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? How long is the Lease? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bishops Cleeve