I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Hethersett.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – 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 managing agents 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Hethersett both have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Hethersett. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes 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 because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Hethersett where we see a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Hethersett conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hethersett with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hethersett can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Hethersett levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hethersett.

What makes a Hethersett lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hethersett. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct 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 problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I purchased a basement flat in Hethersett, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Hethersett with a long lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2081

With just 56 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £23,800 and £27,400 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. 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 considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hethersett