Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Pangbourne. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder

Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?

You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

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

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Pangbourne please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Pangbourne

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold flat in Pangbourne. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Pangbourne who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Pangbourne conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Pangbourne. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Pangbourne from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pangbourne can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Pangbourne charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pangbourne.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Pangbourne state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Pangbourne conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

We expect to complete the sale of our £450000 apartment in Pangbourne on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pangbourne?

Pangbourne conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily results in fees being raised by managing agents :

• Addressing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Pangbourne
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Pangbourne leasehold property is £350. For Pangbourne 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 obliged to supply the information.

Pangbourne Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Can you tell me if there are any major works in the planning that could increase the service fees? It would be wise to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the building as they can either make life much simpler or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the upkeep of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Pangbourne