Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in St Leonards On Sea. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the building.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over a path or staircase?

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in St Leonards On Sea.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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 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 recently bought a leasehold flat in St Leonards On Sea. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I work for a long established estate agency in St Leonards On Sea where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local St Leonards On Sea conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 commence 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 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 buyer.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• 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

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Bank of Scotland, and Nottingham Building Society all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in St Leonards On Sea, conveyancing was carried out in 2010. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable properties in St Leonards On Sea with an extended lease are worth £256,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2096

With just 71 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be 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 move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

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Lease Extensions in St Leonards On Sea