I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Kemp Town.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Kemp Town both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Kemp Town is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Kemp Town conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Kemp Town where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Kemp Town conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 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 sale.

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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Kemp Town conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kemp Town conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Kemp Town conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

All being well we will complete our sale of a £350000 garden flat in Kemp Town next Tuesday . The freeholder has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Kemp Town?

Kemp Town conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not necessitates the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Kemp Town Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Best to be warned whether fixing the lift or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future to be shared by the tenants and could well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance fees or require a specific payment. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? How much is the ground rent and service charge?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Kemp Town