We often find that owners of leasehold properties, particularly flats in the London area, are unaware of some of the financial and other obligations if they want to sell. There are a number of hidden costs and other issues that may be faced - depending on the terms of the lease and the nature of the landlord or the managing agents. It is better to be prepared for these eventualities and to check the position even before putting the property on the market. In this way a seller can budget more accurately and deal with any potential problems, which if only discovered after a sale has been agreed could delay or jeopardise it.

Are you aware of your obligations? - Here are some matters you should consider to avoid being caught out.

• Do you need the landlord's consent to assign (sell) your lease? Some leases only allow a property to be transferred if the consent of the landlord is obtained and many require a certificate from the landlord or the management company (if there is one) to confirm that the tenant has complied with their obligations, for example, that rent and service charges are paid up to date. The lease and title should be checked either by you or your solicitors and the landlord/managing agent contacted for details of their requirements and the fees which will inevitably be payable.
• Have you carried out any alterations to the property? If so, did you need the landlord's permission to do so - did you get it and was it in the correct form? - If not, can you get it retrospectively and how much will it cost? These are important questions as many people do not realise that even simple things like replacing carpet with laminate or wood flooring can be an alteration requiring consent under the lease.
• Was planning, listed building consent or building regulations approval required and obtained for any additions and alternations and do you have copies to provide to a buyer? Any works should also have been signed off by the local council Building Control once completed.
• Do you hold shares in any freehold or management company and, if so, what is the procedure for transferring them? Do you know where the original share certificate is?
• Is your lease plan accurate? It is essential that your lease plan accurately defines the extent of the property. Although this may seem obvious, it is not uncommon for lease plans to have inaccuracies. Although sometimes this is because they have not been carefully drawn up originally, more commonly it is because a flat owner has "taken over" a part of the building which was not demised to them e.g. an inviting piece of flat roof has been converted to be a terrace! If this type of problem is not resolved before you sell, you can guarantee you (or more likely your solicitor) will become embroiled in lengthy (and expensive!) correspondence with the buyer and the landlord.
• Fees for information. The landlord or managing agent will usually charge a fee for providing information which a buyer will require including service charge and insurance details and regarding anticipated major works or expenditure. Both the level of fees and the quality of information can vary widely but not always in proportion! Find out who will provide the information and at what cost.
• If your property is less than 10 years old, do you have the proper documentation for your NHBC or similar guarantee?

We recommend to sellers that they contact us before even putting their property on the market so that we can go through these and other issues so as to help facilitate a smooth transaction once a buyer has been found. The Home Information Packs, introduced by the Housing Act 2004 will add some compulsion to this process when they are brought in to effect in 2006/2007.