Looking forward to complete next month on a studio apartment in Walsingham. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Walsingham. Conveyancing and Britannia mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Walsingham who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Walsingham conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Walsingham both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Walsingham. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I work for a busy estate agency in Walsingham where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Walsingham conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £325000 flat in Walsingham in nine days. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Walsingham?

Walsingham conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

Walsingham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

This information is important as a) areas can result in problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Are there any major works in the near future that could add a premium to the service fees?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Walsingham