Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in West Wittering. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in West Wittering - 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.

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in West Wittering. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in West Wittering ?

Most houses in West Wittering are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in West Wittering in which case you should be shopping around for a West Wittering conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in West Wittering from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Wittering can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in West Wittering charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Wittering.

Some West Wittering leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 buyers or their solicitors.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a West Wittering home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £225000 maisonette in West Wittering on Tuesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in West Wittering?

For the majority of leasehold sales in West Wittering 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 conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in West Wittering
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for West Wittering leasehold property is £350. For West Wittering 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 the information.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in West Wittering what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in West Wittering. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed conveyancing instructions 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, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in West Wittering, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in West Wittering with a long lease are worth £195,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2094

With only 69 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in West Wittering