Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Woolacombe. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
• You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
• Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
• Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Woolacombe.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Woolacombe which have about fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Woolacombe. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Woolacombe where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Woolacombe conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 simultaneously with 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Woolacombe conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Woolacombe conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Woolacombe conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Woolacombe who can give a testimonial?
• What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Leasehold Conveyancing in Woolacombe - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. In the main the cost for major works are not included within maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Woolacombe require leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major works.