I work for a reputable estate agent office in Wolviston where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Wolviston conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Wolviston conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wolviston conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Wolviston conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

What are the costs for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Wolviston charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Wolviston state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.

A minority of Wolviston leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £175000 apartment in Wolviston in six days. The management company has quoted £372 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 Wolviston?

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

• Addressing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Wolviston
• Supplying insurance information
• 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 Wolviston leasehold property is £350. For Wolviston 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.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston what are the most frequent lease problems?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Wolviston. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• Insurance obligations
• 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 will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , The Mortgage Works, and Alliance & Leicester 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Wolviston Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

It would be sensible to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters such as the upkeep of the common parts. Ask other tenants whether they are happy with their service. In conclusion, be sure you discover the dates that the service fees are due to the managing agents and specifically what you get for your money. Best to be warned whether redecorating or some other significant cost is coming up that will be shared between the leasehold owners and may well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance charges or require a specific payment. The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wolviston