I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Yate.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Yate which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Yate. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Yate with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Yate can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Yate charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Yate.
• Some Yate leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Yate conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £ 400000 flat in Yate next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Yate?

Yate conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

What are the common defects that you come across in leases for Yate properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Yate. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• 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

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Leeds Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Yate, conveyancing having been completed 8 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Yate with a long lease are worth £191,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2100

With 74 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.