I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Codsall. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Codsall - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Codsall.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Codsall. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Codsall who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Codsall conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Codsall where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Codsall conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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 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 buyer.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £275000 garden flat in Codsall in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Codsall?

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

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Codsall
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Codsall leasehold premises is £350. For Codsall 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.

Codsall Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Who are the managing agents? What is the the remaining lease term? Plenty Codsall leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically accross the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large figure, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Codsall