Expecting to complete next month on a leasehold property in Paignton. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business

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

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required

What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Paignton please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Paignton

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Paignton.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Paignton where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Paignton conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Paignton from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Paignton can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Paignton 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 Paignton.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Paignton leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

Some Paignton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 solicitors.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £375000 flat in Paignton on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Paignton?

For most leasehold sales in Paignton conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Paignton
• 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 Paignton leasehold premises is £350. For Paignton 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 supply answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Paignton - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Paignton ask leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major works. The prefered form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this situation the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Be sure to enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Paignton. If you like the propertyin Paignton but your cat can’t make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult decision.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Paignton