I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Leven. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Leven - 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.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Leven both have approximately fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Leven. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Leven where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Leven conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 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 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 sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £ 375000 garden flat in Leven on Friday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Leven?

Leven conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

What makes a Leven lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Leven is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Leven Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that will add a premium to the maintenance fees? The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from control and even though a managing agent is frequently employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.