I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Silsoe.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

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 found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Silsoe. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Silsoe are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Silsoe in which case you should be looking for a Silsoe conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Silsoe which have in the region of forty five years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a reputable estate agency in Silsoe where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Silsoe conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 buyer.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £375000 flat in Silsoe next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Silsoe?

Silsoe conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Silsoe - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Be sure to find out if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example it is very common in Silsoe leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Silsoe. If you like the flatin Silsoe yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult determination. For many Silsoe leaseholds the cost for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Silsoe obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works. If a Silsoe lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the premises for 24 months in order to be eligible to extend the lease.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Silsoe