Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Woodhouse and Handsworth. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Woodhouse and Handsworth - 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.

Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Woodhouse and Handsworth. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Woodhouse and Handsworth should include some of the following:

• How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Woodhouse and Handsworth.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I work for a busy estate agency in Woodhouse and Handsworth where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Woodhouse and Handsworth conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What makes a Woodhouse and Handsworth lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Woodhouse and Handsworth is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. 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
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Chelsea Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Woodhouse and Handsworth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Where a Woodhouse and Handsworth lease has no more than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Woodhouse and Handsworthlease extensions you will need to own the residence for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. Many Woodhouse and Handsworth leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the landlord. Should you acquire the flat you will have to meet this charge, normally in instalments during the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it could be surprisingly expensive. This information is helpful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have complete disclosure

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Woodhouse and Handsworth