I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Wokingham.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear the service charge 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've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Wokingham. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Wokingham ?

The majority of houses in Wokingham are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Wokingham so you should seriously consider looking for a Wokingham conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Wokingham where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Wokingham conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is 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 has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £ 175000 maisonette in Wokingham next week. The managing agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Wokingham?

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

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Wokingham
• 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 conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Wokingham leasehold property is £350. For Wokingham 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 provide answers.

What are the common defects that you see in leases for Wokingham properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Wokingham is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
• 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

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and TSB 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, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Wokingham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Please note if it is less than eighty years it will affect the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Wokinghamlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the premises for two years before you are legally able to extend the lease. The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees have control and even though a managing agent is often retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.