Planning to exchange soon on a basement flat in Fenstanton. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Fenstanton should include some of the following:

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

Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?

Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or working from home

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Fenstanton please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Fenstanton

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Fenstanton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 agent office in Fenstanton where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Fenstanton conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Fenstanton with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Fenstanton can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Fenstanton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Fenstanton.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Fenstanton leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Fenstanton home move. Where a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £500000 apartment in Fenstanton in 10 days. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Fenstanton?

Fenstanton conveyancing on leasehold flats usually results in administration charges invoiced by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Fenstanton
• 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 Fenstanton leasehold premises is £350. For Fenstanton 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.

Fenstanton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

It would be sensible to find out as much as you can concerning the company managing the building as they will either make living at the property much easier or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Ask other tenants what they think of their service. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending the funds. This question is important as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have complete disclosure The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Fenstanton