Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Seaton. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
• Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home
• You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Seaton.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Seaton. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Seaton ?

Most houses in Seaton are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Seaton so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Seaton conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Seaton where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Seaton conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 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 at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Seaton from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Seaton can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Seaton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Seaton.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Seaton state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
• If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Seaton home move. If a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

I purchased a leasehold flat in Seaton, conveyancing having been completed in 2005. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Seaton with an extended lease are worth £259,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2079

With 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 plus professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. 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. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.