I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Hanham. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Hanham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Hanham. 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. 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Hanham where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Hanham conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Hanham conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hanham conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Hanham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm conducted in Hanham in the last twenty four months?

Can they put you in touch with client in Hanham who can give a testimonial?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £250000 garden flat in Hanham next week. The management company has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Hanham?

Hanham conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves fees being raised by freeholders :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Hanham
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hanham leasehold premises is £350. For Hanham 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 supply answers.

Hanham Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the leaseholders? Many Hanham leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building set by the management company. If you buy the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments during the year. This can vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay annual, normally this is not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Can you inform me if there are any major works in the planning that will likely increase the maintenance charges?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hanham