Planning to exchange soon on a garden flat in St Austell. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• 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?

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in St Austell.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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 employed by a busy estate agency in St Austell where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local St Austell conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence 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 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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a St Austell conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a St Austell conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non St Austell conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in St Austell in the last year?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in St Austell what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in St Austell is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

St Austell Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? This information is important as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have all the details How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments?