I am hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in Long Eaton. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Setting out your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or staircase?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
• You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Long Eaton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear 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 until 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 couple of flats in Long Eaton which have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Long Eaton is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 a residence 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 Long Eaton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Long Eaton where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Long Eaton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Long Eaton from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Long Eaton can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Long Eaton levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Long Eaton.
• Some Long Eaton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Long Eaton conveyancing deal. If a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

I own a 2 bed flat in Long Eaton, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Long Eaton with a long lease are worth £202,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2104

With only 78 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.