I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Hermitage.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Hermitage which have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Hermitage. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Hermitage where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Hermitage conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 needs to be completed 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 purchaser.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £450000 flat in Hermitage next week. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Hermitage?

Hermitage conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hermitage what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hermitage. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Coventry Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Hermitage Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Does the lease include onerous restrictions? This question is helpful as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will impact the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for 24 months before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hermitage