I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Waddon.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

It best that you pay 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 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.

What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Waddon conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Waddon conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Waddon conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Waddon in the last 12 months?

What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Waddon from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Waddon can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Waddon leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.

Some Waddon leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.

If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the disposal of our £475000 flat in Waddon next week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Waddon?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Waddon conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

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

I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Waddon. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Waddon premises is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case was in relation to 4 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 98 years.

What makes a Waddon lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Waddon is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Virgin Money, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Waddon