Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Perry Barr. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Perry Barr.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

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

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 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).

I work for a long established estate agency in Perry Barr where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Perry Barr conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £350000 garden flat in Perry Barr next week. The management company has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Perry Barr?

Perry Barr conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They may invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I inherited a ground floor flat in Perry Barr, conveyancing having been completed 2009. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Perry Barr with a long lease are worth £267,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2094

You have 69 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Perry Barr