I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Bootle.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you 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 management companies 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Bootle which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Bootle where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Bootle conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer 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 prior to, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bootle from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bootle can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Bootle levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bootle.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Bootle state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
• If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

What are the common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Bootle properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bootle is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester 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 problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Bootle Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they can either make living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other people whether they are happy with them. Finally, be sure you understand the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and precisely how they are spending that money.