Looking forward to exchange soon on a garden flat in Princes Risborough. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?

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

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

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Princes Risborough please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Princes Risborough

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Princes Risborough which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Princes Risborough is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Princes Risborough conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Princes Risborough with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Princes Risborough can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Princes Risborough charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Princes Risborough.

If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Princes Risborough leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.

A minority of Princes Risborough leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Princes Risborough home move. If a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £375000 apartment in Princes Risborough in just under a week. The management company has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Princes Risborough?

Princes Risborough conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves administration charges levied by managing agents :

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Princes Risborough
• 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 Princes Risborough leasehold premises is £350. For Princes Risborough 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 provide answers.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Princes Risborough what are the most common lease problems?

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

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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 have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Virgin Money, and Alliance & Leicester 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Princes Risborough Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

Please tell me if there are any major works in the near future that could increase the service charges? It would be sensible to find out if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Princes Risborough. If you love the flatin Princes Risborough but your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced hard decision. Please note if it is no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are happy with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Princes Risborough