Planning to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Claverley. Conveyancing lawyers inform me 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 Claverley should include some of the following:

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?

Are pets allowed in the flat?

You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property 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 Claverley please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Claverley

I have just started marketing my basement flat in Claverley.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Claverley both have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Claverley. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £375000 flat in Claverley on Monday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Claverley?

Claverley conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Claverley
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Claverley leasehold premises is £350. For Claverley 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.

What makes a Claverley lease problematic?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Claverley. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• 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

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Coventry Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Claverley Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees have control and even though a managing agent is usually employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Make sure you investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example it is reasonably common in Claverley leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Claverley. If you like the apartmentin Claverley but your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you have a very difficult compromise. Who is in charge of the block?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Claverley