Looking forward to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Great Baddow. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises 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

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Great Baddow please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Great Baddow

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Great Baddow.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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 am looking at a couple of apartments in Great Baddow both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Great Baddow is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Great Baddow conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Great Baddow with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Great Baddow can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Great Baddow levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Great Baddow.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Great Baddow leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.

Some Great Baddow leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £250000 garden flat in Great Baddow next week. The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Great Baddow?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Great Baddow 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 conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Great Baddow
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Great Baddow leasehold premises is £350. For Great Baddow 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 obliged to provide answers.

Great Baddow Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How much is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent? Most Great Baddow leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied by the landlord. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, usually quarterly accross the year. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. Who is in charge of the building?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Great Baddow