I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Sudbury. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sudbury should include some of the following:

• You should be sent a copy of the lease

The total extent of the demise. This will be the flat itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Repair and maintenance of the flat

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions) For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Sudbury please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Sudbury

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in Sudbury. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Sudbury who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Sudbury conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Sudbury conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sudbury conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Sudbury conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?

If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sudbury from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sudbury can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Sudbury charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sudbury.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Sudbury home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £500000 garden flat in Sudbury in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Sudbury?

For most leasehold sales in Sudbury conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Sudbury
• 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 Sudbury leasehold property is £350. For Sudbury 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 obliged to provide answers.

I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Sudbury. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to calculate the price.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Sudbury residence is Ground Floor Flat 79 London Road in September 2012. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension should be £7,636 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 74 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sudbury