Looking forward to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Stapleton. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Stapleton should include some of the following:

• Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways?
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames
• What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Stapleton.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Stapleton both have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Stapleton. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. A critical element 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Stapleton conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Stapleton conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Stapleton 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 useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
• What volume of lease extensions have they conducted in Stapleton in the last year?

Stapleton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

Most Stapleton leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Where you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually quarterly accross the year. This could vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to check as occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive.