I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Exmouth.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service 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 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.

Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Exmouth. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Exmouth who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Exmouth conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Exmouth from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Exmouth can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Exmouth charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Exmouth.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Exmouth leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
• If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £ 325000 maisonette in Exmouth in 10 days. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Exmouth?

Exmouth conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges raised by management companies :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Exmouth
• 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 Exmouth leasehold premises is £350. For Exmouth 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 supply the information.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Exmouth what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Exmouth. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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 encounter 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. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Exmouth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

What is the annual service fee and ground rent? Many Exmouth leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the management company. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments accross the year. This could be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built buildings. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a large sum, say about £50-£100 but you need to check it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds.