I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Hook Norton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge 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 until 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.

Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Hook Norton. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Hook Norton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Hook Norton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Hook Norton where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Hook Norton conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hook Norton from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hook Norton can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Hook Norton levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hook Norton.

What are the common deficiencies that you see in leases for Hook Norton properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hook Norton. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
• 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 problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Hook Norton Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

This question is important as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have full disclosure Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the tenants? Best to be warned if window replacement or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared by the leasehold owners and could well dramatically impact the level of the service costs or necessitate a specific invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hook Norton