I am hoping to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Rise Park. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Rise Park should include some of the following:

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

You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions

The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.

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 is in violation of a provision in 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 Rise Park please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Rise Park

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Rise Park. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Rise Park ?

The majority of houses in Rise Park are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Rise Park in which case you should be shopping around for a Rise Park conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Rise Park where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Rise Park conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Rise Park from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Rise Park can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Rise Park charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rise Park.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge 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 unsettled.

If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Rise Park conveyancing deal. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £375000 maisonette in Rise Park next week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Rise Park?

Rise Park conveyancing on leasehold flats typically involves administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Rise Park
• 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 Rise Park leasehold property is £350. For Rise Park 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.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Rise Park conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Rise Park flat is Flat b 14 Kemble Road in May 2014. The Tribunal assessed the value of the premium payable for the lease extension to be £9,761 This case affected 1 flat.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Rise Park