Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Mildmay. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Mildmay - 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 have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my flat in Mildmay. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Mildmay.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Mildmay.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies 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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £200000 garden flat in Mildmay next Wednesday . The management company has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Mildmay?

Mildmay conveyancing on leasehold flats typically results in fees being raised by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Mildmay
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Mildmay leasehold property is £350. For Mildmay 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 provide answers.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you witness in leases for Mildmay properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Mildmay. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that 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
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Mildmay Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

Are there any major works in the near future that will add a premium to the service fees? Best to be warned if redecorating or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared by the leaseholders and could well materially impact the level of the maintenance charges or result in a specific payment. The majority of Mildmay leasehold flats will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Where you acquire the property you will have to meet this contribution, normally quarterly during the year. This could vary from several 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 large sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Mildmay