Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Flitwick.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Flitwick. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Flitwick ?

The majority of houses in Flitwick are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Flitwick so you should seriously consider looking for a Flitwick conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First 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 for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Flitwick where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Flitwick conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Flitwick from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Flitwick can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Flitwick charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. 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 Flitwick.
• A minority of Flitwick leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Flitwick what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Flitwick is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Flitwick - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Its a good idea to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Ask other people if they are happy with them. In conclusion, be sure you discover the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending the funds. The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.