I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Flint. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Flint - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 am hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in Flint. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Flint 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 the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Flint please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Flint

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Flint.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Flint where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Flint conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £275000 apartment in Flint in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Flint?

Flint conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in administration charges raised by managing agents :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Flint
• 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 Flint leasehold premises is £350. For Flint 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 Flint - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

How long is the Lease? Where a Flint lease has less than eighty years it will impact the salability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. 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. For most Flintlease extensions you would need to own the property for a couple of years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. It would be sensible to find out if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is fairly common in Flint leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Flint. If you love the flatin Flint but your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice.

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Lease Extensions in Flint