I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Gunnislake both have in the region of 50 years left on the leases. 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 period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Gunnislake where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Gunnislake conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Gunnislake conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Gunnislake conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Gunnislake conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Gunnislake who can give a testimonial?

All being well we will complete the sale of our £ 150000 garden flat in Gunnislake in just under a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Gunnislake?

Gunnislake conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Gunnislake what are the most frequent lease defects?

Leasehold conveyancing in Gunnislake is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements 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 could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Gunnislake - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Plenty Gunnislake leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the freeholder. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically throughout the year. This can vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a significant figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.