Expecting to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Greenfield. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or working from home

You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

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

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide. For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Greenfield please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Greenfield

I own a leasehold house in Greenfield. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Greenfield who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Greenfield conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Greenfield. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Greenfield with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Greenfield can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Greenfield levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Greenfield.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Greenfield leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.

Some Greenfield leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Greenfield home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £400000 apartment in Greenfield next week. The management company has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Greenfield?

For most leasehold sales in Greenfield conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Greenfield
• 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 Greenfield leasehold premises is £350. For Greenfield 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 provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Greenfield - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It would be wise to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Greenfield leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Greenfield. If you love the propertyin Greenfield yet your cat can’t live with you then you will be faced difficult choice. How is the lease structured? What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the property?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Greenfield