Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Blythe Bridge. Conveyancing and Bank of Scotland mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Blythe Bridge who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Blythe Bridge conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Blythe Bridge where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Blythe Bridge conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• Some Blythe Bridge leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 buyers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 rather than unresolved.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Blythe Bridge home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible 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.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £225000 maisonette in Blythe Bridge in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Blythe Bridge?

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

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Blythe Bridge
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Blythe Bridge leasehold property is £350. For Blythe Bridge 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.

What makes a Blythe Bridge lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Barnsley Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements 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 pull out.

Blythe Bridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Most Blythe Bridge leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Should you acquire the flat you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly during the year. This can differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other significant cost is pending to be shared by the leaseholders and could well materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or necessitate a specific invoice. What is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Blythe Bridge