Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Halstead. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

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

Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

You must 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

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

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 For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Halstead please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Halstead

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Halstead.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

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 management companies 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Halstead. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. A critical element 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).

Completion in due on the disposal of our £425000 apartment in Halstead next Tuesday . The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Halstead?

Halstead conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Halstead
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Halstead leasehold premises is £350. For Halstead 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 the information.

What makes a Halstead lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Halstead is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Halstead, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Halstead with a long lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2079

You have 58 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Halstead