I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Shaftesbury.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Shaftesbury which have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Shaftesbury. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shaftesbury from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shaftesbury can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Shaftesbury charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shaftesbury.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Shaftesbury conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete our sale of a £200000 apartment in Shaftesbury on Friday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Shaftesbury?

For most leasehold sales in Shaftesbury conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Shaftesbury
• 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 Shaftesbury leasehold property is £350. For Shaftesbury 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 provide answers.

What makes a Shaftesbury lease unacceptable for security purposes?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Shaftesbury. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express 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 provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Shaftesbury Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It would be prudent to find out if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Shaftesbury. If you love the propertyin Shaftesbury but your dog can’t make the move with you then you have a very difficult compromise. The answer will be important as a) areas could result in problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the running of the building you will wish to know about it How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Shaftesbury