Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Newton Aycliffe. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Newton Aycliffe should include some of the following:

• The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business

You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease

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

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Newton Aycliffe please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Newton Aycliffe

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Newton Aycliffe.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay 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 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 am looking at a couple of flats in Newton Aycliffe which have approximately forty five years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Newton Aycliffe conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Newton Aycliffe conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Newton Aycliffe conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

Can they put you in touch with client in Newton Aycliffe who can give a testimonial?

Completion in due on our sale of a £275000 apartment in Newton Aycliffe on Thursday in a week. The management company has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Newton Aycliffe?

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

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Newton Aycliffe
• 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 Newton Aycliffe leasehold premises is £350. For Newton Aycliffe 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 supply the information.

I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Newton Aycliffe, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Newton Aycliffe with an extended lease are worth £260,000. The ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2084

With 59 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Newton Aycliffe