I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Stanford Le Hope.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

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 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 am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Stanford Le Hope both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Stanford Le Hope. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Stanford Le Hope. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £125000 garden flat in Stanford Le Hope in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Stanford Le Hope?

Stanford Le Hope conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily necessitates administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Stanford Le Hope
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stanford Le Hope leasehold premises is £350. For Stanford Le Hope 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 supply answers.

What are the frequently found defects that you come across in leases for Stanford Le Hope properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Stanford Le Hope. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

You could 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. Halifax, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Britannia all have express requirements 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I acquired a basement flat in Stanford Le Hope, conveyancing having been completed 9 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Stanford Le Hope with a long lease are worth £263,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2083

You have 58 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £23,800 and £27,400 plus legals.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stanford Le Hope