Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Hatfield. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Hatfield - 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 am hoping to complete next month on a leasehold property in Hatfield. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

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

I’m about to sell my basement flat in Hatfield.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Hatfield where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Hatfield conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 buyer.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £450000 apartment in Hatfield in nine days. The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hatfield?

Hatfield conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not requires the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

Hatfield Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

How is the lease structured? What restrictions exist in the Hatfield Lease? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hatfield