I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Morganstown.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 managing agents 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Morganstown. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Morganstown are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Morganstown in which case you should be looking for a Morganstown conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Morganstown where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Morganstown conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £350000 garden flat in Morganstown on Wednesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Morganstown?

Morganstown conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be willing to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

What are the common defects that you encounter in leases for Morganstown properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Morganstown. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Morganstown, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2009. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Morganstown with over 90 years remaining are worth £215,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2085

With only 60 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Morganstown