Looking forward to complete next month on a garden flat in Sedbergh. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• 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?

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Sedbergh. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Sedbergh ?

Most houses in Sedbergh are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Sedbergh in which case you should be looking for a Sedbergh conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Sedbergh. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Sedbergh who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Sedbergh conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Sedbergh where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Sedbergh conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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 simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sedbergh with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sedbergh can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Sedbergh charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sedbergh.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Sedbergh leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
• Some Sedbergh leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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 able to meet 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 solicitors.
• If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

I bought a split level flat in Sedbergh, conveyancing formalities finalised 2005. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Sedbergh with a long lease are worth £167,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2097

You have 71 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.