I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Morganstown. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

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

Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change

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

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Morganstown please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Morganstown

I own a leasehold house in Morganstown. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Morganstown who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Morganstown conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Morganstown. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Morganstown with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Morganstown can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Morganstown charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for 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 usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Morganstown.

A minority of Morganstown leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on our sale of a £125000 apartment in Morganstown in just under a week. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Morganstown?

Morganstown conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates fees being raised by management companies :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Morganstown
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Morganstown leasehold property is £350. For Morganstown 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.

Morganstown Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

It would be wise to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask other people if they are happy with them. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money. It would be sensible to find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Morganstown. If you love the flatin Morganstown however your dog is not allowed to move with you then you will be faced hard determination. Where a Morganstown lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for 24 months before you are legally able to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Morganstown