I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Shenley Brook End.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear 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.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Shenley Brook End. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Shenley Brook End who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Shenley Brook End conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Brook End with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Brook End can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Shenley Brook End levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Brook End.

A minority of Shenley Brook End leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their solicitors.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Shenley Brook End conveyancing transaction. If a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

We expect to complete the sale of our £125000 flat in Shenley Brook End next week. The management company has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Shenley Brook End?

For most leasehold sales in Shenley Brook End conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Shenley Brook End
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Shenley Brook End leasehold property is £350. For Shenley Brook End 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.

What makes a Shenley Brook End lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Brook End is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Shenley Brook End Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

This question is important as a) areas can result in problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have full disclosure Most Shenley Brook End leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block set by the management company. Where you buy the flat you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically during the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say around £50-£100 but you should to enquire as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Can you tell me if there are any major works on the horizon that will increase the maintenance costs?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Shenley Brook End