Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Lichfield. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Lichfield - 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Lichfield. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Lichfield conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Lichfield conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Lichfield conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?

If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £175000 apartment in Lichfield next Tuesday . The freeholder has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Lichfield?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Lichfield conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Lichfield
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Lichfield leasehold premises is £350. For Lichfield 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 supply the information.

What makes a Lichfield lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Lichfield is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express 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.

Lichfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

The majority of Lichfield leasehold flats will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building set by the freeholder. If you acquire the property you will have to meet this charge, usually quarterly accross the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, normally this is not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds. How much is the ground rent and service charge? This question is helpful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to know about it

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Lichfield