Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Highnam. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Highnam - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Highnam. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

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

Setting out your rights in relation to the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease include a right of way over a path or staircase?

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business

Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Repair and maintenance of the flat For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Highnam please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Highnam

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Highnam where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Highnam conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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.

We expect to complete our sale of a £250000 flat in Highnam next week. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Highnam?

Highnam conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily results in administration charges raised by freeholders :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Highnam
• 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 Highnam leasehold premises is £350. For Highnam 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 answers.

Are there common defects that you see in leases for Highnam properties?

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

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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 can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Virgin Money, and Nottingham Building Society 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 pull out.

Highnam Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before buying

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? What prohibitions are there in the Highnam Lease? Who are the managing agents?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Highnam