Looking forward to complete next month on a garden flat in Sandbanks. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.For example, does the lease permit a right of way over a path or hallways?

Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business

You must 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

Repair and maintenance of the flat

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

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Sandbanks.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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 managing agents 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 today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Sandbanks. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Sandbanks ?

Most houses in Sandbanks are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Sandbanks in which case you should be shopping around for a Sandbanks conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority 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 requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Sandbanks. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct 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 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Sandbanks who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Sandbanks conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Completion in due on the sale of our £325000 maisonette in Sandbanks in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Sandbanks?

Sandbanks conveyancing on leasehold apartments typically necessitates fees being levied by freeholders :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Sandbanks
• 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 Sandbanks leasehold property is £350. For Sandbanks 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 the information.

Sandbanks Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Who manages the building? If a Sandbanks lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the property for a couple of years in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. How is the lease structured?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Sandbanks