I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Formby. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Formby - 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 am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Formby. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

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

The total extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but might include a loft or basement if appropriate.

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Repair and maintenance of the flat

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

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Formby which have approximately 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Formby. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Formby where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Formby conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 sale.

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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £300000 apartment in Formby next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Formby?

For most leasehold sales in Formby 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 pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Formby
• 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 Formby leasehold property is £350. For Formby 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 the information.

Formby Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Please tell me if there are any major works on the horizon that could increase the service fees? Is the freehold owned jointly by the leaseholders? Its a good idea to find out as much as you can about the company managing the block as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or much more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask other tenants what they think of them. Finally, be sure you discover the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Formby