Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Tavistock. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or staircase?

You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease

Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?

Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Tavistock please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Tavistock

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Tavistock.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Tavistock. 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. 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Tavistock where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Tavistock conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £325000 flat in Tavistock next Thursday . The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Tavistock?

For most leasehold sales in Tavistock conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

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

Tavistock Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the property? Where a Tavistock lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Tavistocklease extensions you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for a couple of years in order to be legally able to carry out a lease extension. Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that will add a premium to the service fees?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Tavistock