You should [be sent a copy of the lease|receive a copy of the lease]

Looking forward to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Truro. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Truro should include some of the following:

• Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
• Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
• You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
• Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
• The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
• Responsibility for repairing the window frames

For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Truro please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Truro

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Truro where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Truro conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing 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 most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with several firms including non Truro conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• Can they put you in touch with client in Truro who can give a testimonial?

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Truro with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Truro can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Truro levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Truro.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Truro leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
• A minority of Truro leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• 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 conveyancers. 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. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider 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.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 400000 flat in Truro on Tuesday in a week. The management company has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Truro?

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

• Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Truro
• 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 solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Truro leasehold premises is £350. For Truro 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 provide answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Truro - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

How much is the ground rent and service charge?