Looking forward to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Haddenham. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Haddenham should include some of the following:

• Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?

Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Haddenham please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Haddenham

I am looking at a two flats in Haddenham which have approximately 50 years remaining 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 gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. 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 as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Haddenham. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £500000 garden flat in Haddenham in six days. The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Haddenham?

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

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Haddenham
• 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 Haddenham leasehold property is £350. For Haddenham 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.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Haddenham what are the most frequent lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Haddenham is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
• 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Chelsea Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed conveyancing instructions 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Haddenham - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. It is important to be aware if redecorating or some other major work is due in the near future to be shared by the tenants and will dramatically impact the level of the maintenance costs or require a one time invoice. You should be aware if it is no more than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. Check with your bank that they are content with remaining years on the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. For most Haddenhamlease extensions you will need to own the residence for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Haddenham