Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold flat in Frenchay Common. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Frenchay Common who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Frenchay Common conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Frenchay Common where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Frenchay Common conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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 need not have 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay Common with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay Common can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Frenchay Common levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover 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 typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay Common.
• A minority of Frenchay Common leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 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 property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Frenchay Common home move. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £ 225000 maisonette in Frenchay Common on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Frenchay Common?

Frenchay Common conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay Common what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Frenchay Common is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Frenchay Common Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is pending to be shared between the leaseholders and will materially increase the the service fees or result in a one off invoice.