I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Cottenham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Cottenham. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Cottenham who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Cottenham conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Cottenham both have about 50 years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority landlords or Management Companies in Cottenham levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham.

If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Cottenham home move. Where a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £125000 apartment in Cottenham in nine days. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cottenham?

For most leasehold sales in Cottenham conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Cottenham
• 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 lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Cottenham leasehold property is £350. For Cottenham 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 obliged to provide the information.

Cottenham Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

It would be prudent to find out as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they can either make living at the property much simpler or a lot more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. You should not be afraid to ask other tenants what they think of them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and precisely what you get for your money. How much is the ground rent and service charge? Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Cottenham