Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in Queensbury. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Queensbury should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Queensbury.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 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 employed by a reputable estate agency in Queensbury where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Queensbury conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 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 has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Queensbury conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Queensbury conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Queensbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Queensbury who can give a testimonial?

I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Queensbury. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the premium.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Queensbury flat is 20 Orchard Court Stonegrove in June 2009. The tribunal decided that a premium of £11,040 should be payable for the new lease This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 71.55 years.

What makes a Queensbury lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Queensbury. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

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. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and TSB 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Queensbury