I am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Yaxley. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Yaxley should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
• Are pets allowed in the flat?
• An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
• Repair and maintenance of the flat
• I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Yaxley.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

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

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Yaxley which have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Yaxley. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. 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 companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Yaxley where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Yaxley conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Yaxley from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Yaxley can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Yaxley charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought 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 frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Yaxley.
• Some Yaxley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Yaxley conveyancing transaction. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Yaxley Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before buying

On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be incorporated into the maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Yaxley ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance. Best to be warned whether redecorating or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared amongst the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the service charges or result in a one time payment. The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.