Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Waterhouses. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Waterhouses - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Waterhouses conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Waterhouses conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Waterhouses conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Waterhouses in the last 12 months?

What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Waterhouses from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Waterhouses can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Waterhouses charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Waterhouses.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Waterhouses state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.

Some Waterhouses leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £475000 maisonette in Waterhouses next week. The management company has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Waterhouses?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Waterhouses conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Waterhouses
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Waterhouses leasehold property is £350. For Waterhouses 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 required to supply answers.

What are the frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Waterhouses properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Waterhouses. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. 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 property
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Barnsley Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Waterhouses - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the block? Many Waterhouses leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the management company. If you acquire the flat you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments accross the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a significant sum, say around £25-£75 but you need to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. Best to be warned whether a new roof is being installed or some other significant cost is due in the foreseeable future to be shared between the leasehold owners and could well dramatically increase the the service fees or require a specific invoice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Waterhouses