Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Grasmere. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Grasmere should include some of the following:

• The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• 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
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Grasmere.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies 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 am attracted to a two apartments in Grasmere both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a long established estate agent office in Grasmere where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Grasmere conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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 kick-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 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.

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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Grasmere conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Grasmere conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Grasmere conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Grasmere who can give a testimonial?

Grasmere Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

What is the length of the lease?