I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Crofton.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Crofton. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Crofton ?

Most houses in Crofton are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Crofton in which case you should be shopping around for a Crofton conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Crofton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. A critical element 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crofton with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Crofton can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Crofton state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.

Some Crofton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £325000 garden flat in Crofton next week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Crofton?

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

• Completing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Crofton
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Crofton leasehold property is £350. For Crofton 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.

Crofton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

How much is the ground rent and service charge? Most Crofton leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this amount, usually in instalments during the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to check it because occasionally it can be surprisingly expensive. You should be aware that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have owned the property for two years in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Crofton