Selling a flat or maisonette? We will try to better your alternative quotation not only on price but also on service.

Go on line for an instant conveyancing quote or email Mark Sadler on mbs@ker.co.uk or call me on 01708 757575 for a personalised estimate of our charges.

Other charges to budget for

In addition to our fees, on a sale you will need to obtain a leasehold information pack/assignment pack from your Landlord. This cost can vary from a few pounds to a few hundred. The cost is generally higher if you have a different management agent acting for your landlord and the management company. These fees can rise further if a faster response (say a 5 day turn around) is required so it is often helpful to instruct your solicitor to obtain the pack at an early stage in the sale transaction as invariably this is often the item that is the last to be obtained.

We will also need to obtain copies of the titles – freehold and leasehold usually £6.00 and a copy of your lease £3 (unless you hold the original) from Land Registry.

If you are repaying a mortgage or otherwise require a bank transfer our costs for sending each transfer are £30 plus VAT.

Matters to consider when Selling your flat?

Short Lease

If you are selling a flat with a short lease – say less than 80 years then this may cause a problem on resale.

The main reasons for this is that mortgage lenders are becoming increasingly wary of lending where lease have dropped below 75 years. It is sometimes a requirement in a mortgage offer that the lease must have at least 75 years left to run at the date of completion.

Buyers too are becoming more aware of the problem and are wary about taking on a short lease because of the premium and costs they will have to pay to extend the lease before they come to sell. In addition because it takes 2 years to qualify for the statutory right to extend a lease Buyers look to the Seller to extend the lease before they buy.

So to prepare for the sale it may be worth considering extending your lease and you can approach the landlord to see the cost of doing so. If you give yourself sufficient time i.e. 12 months or so before you intend to sell you can proceed along the statutory route and extend the lease by a further 80 years and reduce the rent to a peppercorn. To calculate the fee or premium payable to the landlord for the lease extension you can use the lease advice calculator as a guide (www.lease-advice.org)

But often sellers leave it too late so they either

• negotiate a quick fix with the landlord i.e. by extending the lease back up to 99 years at an increased ground rent. The landlord however will use this as an opportunity to obtain a higher premium for the lease extension than the statutory route; or
• exercise their right to extend the lease and assigning the benefit of the right to the buyer. We normally deal with this as part of the sale process and the buyer will take over the responsibility for payment of the premium for the lease extension and for all costs incurred in connection with extending the lease upon completion.

Even if you own a share of the freehold there is still often the need to extend the lease (because mortgage lenders cannot easily take a charge over the freehold share) for further advice on this aspect see our article on this.

Ground Rent and Service Charges

You should ensure that all service charges and ground rent are up to date. Quite often if you can obtain a formal receipt from your landlord for the latest ground rent payment this can save you up to £100 as many charge for sending a formal receipt to solicitors.

Unfortunately even if you keep all the documents from your managing agents the purchaser’s solicitors will still want to obtain the assignment pack from the managing agents (at your cost) to verify the figures and ensure that no major works are proposed. However providing service charge estimates and receipt together with insurance details for the building will only assist us in preparing your sale.

Alterations

Almost any alteration in a flat (whether internal or external) need some sort of consent. The three types of consent mainly encountered are:

• Planning Permission – external works only – permitted development rights do not apply to flats so even small extensions to flats – e.g. a conservatory on a ground floor garden flat – will require specific consent.
• Landlord’s Consent – is invariably required for any internal and external changes. This can include (depending on the exact wording of the lease) changing the flooring type in particular adding wooden or laminate floors, changing windows or doors, altering services such as electrics.
• Building Regulations Approval – any works to structure, layout, electrics, gas appliances are likely to require some sort of consent.

If you are selling you need to obtain these to provide to your buyer. Any buyer is likely to insist on these being obtained before exchange – in particular if it involves obtaining landlord’s consent and if the work is recent.

If you don’t have the right permissions this can cause problems but retrospective consent can often be obtained (although this will take time and may require you to open up bits of the property that have been finished). Remember consent is not always guaranteed e.g. for wooden flooring.  Fees are usually payable to the landlord for their consent depending on the nature of the works. We would therefore suggest that you discuss this with us before taking any action.

Essential Links

Initial Sale Questionnaires – complete these forms and return them to kenneth elliott + rowe solicitors to start the sale process.

Instant Quote – obtain an free online quote for your leasehold sale.

Planning and Building Regulations Guide for Flats – the planning portal

www.lease-advice.org – lease extension calculator

For free quotes or further help and assistance in selling a flat or maisonette please contact Mark Sadler 01708 757575 or email mbs@ker.co.uk

Our specialist solicitors and lawyers assist clients moving home in London, Havering (Romford, Hornchurch, Rainham, Harold Wood, Gidea Park, Harold Hill and Upminster), Barking and Dagenham, Chadwell Heath and Essex (including Brentwood, Basildon, Grays, Thurrock, Shenfield, Chelmsford and Southend). We offer a fixed price service.