Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Ongar. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Ongar should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Ongar. 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. 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Ongar conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ongar conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Ongar conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ongar with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ongar can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Ongar 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 can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ongar.
• A minority of Ongar leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage 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.

All being well we will complete the disposal of our £ 200000 flat in Ongar on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Ongar?

Ongar conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

Ongar Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

The majority of Ongar leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building levied by the management company. If you acquire the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically during the year. This could be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large amount, say about £50-£100 but you need to check as occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive.