Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Lynmouth. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Defining your rights in relation to common areas in the building.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Lynmouth.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Lynmouth. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Lynmouth where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Lynmouth conveyancing firms. Please can 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?

Provided that 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 buyer 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

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

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Lynmouth conveyancing practice) it is most important 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 Lynmouth conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
• What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

Lynmouth Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

This information is important as a) areas may result in problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have full disclosure