Looking forward to complete next month on a leasehold property in Truro. Conveyancing solicitors 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 Truro should include some of the following:

• The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a loft or basement if applicable.
• Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
• Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
• You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
• Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
• What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
• What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease?

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Truro where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Truro conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 prior to, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Truro conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Truro conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Truro 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:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Truro in the last twenty four months?

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Truro from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Truro can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Truro levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Truro.
• Some Truro leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
• 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 reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to 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 conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

Are there frequently found defects that you witness in leases for Truro properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Truro. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• 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 have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale 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, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Truro - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

Most Truro leasehold flats will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. If you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually periodically throughout the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common grounds. There will also be a rentcharge to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant figure, say about £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. Please note that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for a couple of years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.