Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Witham.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 unless 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Witham which have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Witham. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a busy estate agent office in Witham where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Witham conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Witham from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Witham can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
• A minority of Witham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 lawyers.
• If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 rather than unresolved.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Witham conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

What are the frequently found deficiencies that you witness in leases for Witham properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Witham. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. 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 premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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 provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Witham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

How many years are left on the lease? How much is the ground rent and service charge?