Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Bracknell. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

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

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

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Bracknell please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Bracknell

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Bracknell. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Bracknell are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Bracknell in which case you should be shopping around for a Bracknell conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will report to you on the legal implications.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Bracknell. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 ensure 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 work for a reputable estate agency in Bracknell where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Bracknell conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £125000 maisonette in Bracknell next Friday . The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Bracknell?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Bracknell 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-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bracknell
• 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 Bracknell leasehold property is £350. For Bracknell 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 required to supply answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bracknell - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

This question is useful as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have complete disclosure You will want to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other tenants whether they are happy with their management. In conclusion, find out the dates that the service fees are due to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending that money. Please note that where the lease has less than eighty years it will impact the salability of the property. Check with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for two years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bracknell