I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in North Newbald.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in North Newbald where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local North Newbald conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a North Newbald conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a North Newbald conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non North Newbald conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How many lease extensions have they conducted in North Newbald in the last 12 months?
• Can they put you in touch with client in North Newbald who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in North Newbald from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in North Newbald can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in North Newbald state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• Some North Newbald leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important 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 premises on the market for sale.

What makes a North Newbald lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in North Newbald. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

North Newbald Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

It is important to be aware whether window replacement or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared by the leaseholders and will dramatically increase the the service fees or result in a specific payment. Most North Newbald leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. Where you purchase the property you will have to meet this liability, normally quarterly throughout the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to check as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.