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

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 unless 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 two flats in Halstead both have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Halstead. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property 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 assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Halstead where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Halstead conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Halstead from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Halstead can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Halstead leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
• A minority of Halstead leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Halstead conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £ 375000 apartment in Halstead in seven days. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Halstead?

Halstead conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

Halstead Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will increase the service charges?