It's a shame about the legal jargon, but you could ask your solicitor to explain parts of the report in layman's terms so you understand what the report means.
It's your solicitor's job to find out as much as possible about the property, but the solicitor's responsibility is to check out the title, the lease terms and the way the service charges and maintenance are arranged and paid for, but it's your job to be satisfied with the elements of your purchase that will affect you going forward. Neither the solicitor, nor the estate agent, will do this for you.
There are many posts from people who did not understand what buying a leasehold property meant or what they've signed up for and then are angry when they find out something they weren't aware of because they didn't read or understand the documents provided before exchange. So, it is important to try to understand this. But, well done for wanting to find out before exchange takes place.
Here's some ideas to help:
The Lease - this is a legal document setting out the terms and conditions, by which you have to abide by when you live in the property.
Find out the date the lease started and how long the lease term is for. For example if the lease was for 99 years and started on the 12th January 1975, then it only has 49 years left, which would not be acceptable to a mortgage lender. However, the leaseholder (owner) may have extended the lease, so there could be a Deed of Variation to record this. The report should tell you what the situation is for your purchase. Please note that the original lease will be in the name of the original purchaser and this will not change. Your ownership will be registered at Land Registry via the updated Register of Title.
Other things to look out for in the Lease -
Insurance - normally the freeholder/management arrange Buildings Insurance to insure the whole building, not just your flat. This insures the whole building for any structural problems/drainage/leaks/roofing repairs/elevator or lift etc. You will need to obtain Contents Insurance, to insure all your belongings, i.e. television/computer/camera, valuable jewellery, your white goods, beds etc just in case anything gets damaged (fire/flood etc) or stolen.
Read the lease for any restrictive covenants (things that you cannot do, or without permission): For example, do you need permission from the freeholder/managing agent to change windows, have a pet, put wooden flooring down etc. There may also be things listed that you won't get permission for, for example, the lease may state no pets at all, subletting, or flooring must be a carpet. You need to check that this is all acceptable to you, because if the lease prohibits something that will be problem for you, then you need to decide if this is the flat for you as the freeholder is very unlikely to change the lease.
Check the lease to see what it says about Ground Rent. It might be a fixed charge or it might increase in regular increments every so many years. You need to understand how much you could be paying as the years increase. Your solicitor should have put something about this in the report.
Repairs - you would normally pay for and repair anything inside your flat, but outside the flat (communal areas) would normally be arranged by the freeholder/management company. This is what your service charges pay for.
Bills - you will need to set up accounts, such as:
Electricity/gas company to pay for your heating bills
Water company to pay for your water usage
Council for your council tax
If you've been given copies of the current owner's utility bills, check how much they are and whether they are acceptable, as you will need to budget for these costs.
Service Charges - how much are the service charges per year (or per month), will you be paying these monthly, twice yearly in advance or in arrears? You will need the read the Management Pack regarding service charges. Bear in mind, these are estimated for the year, but the actual cost may not be known until the final accounting for the year has been published. Then you may get an additional invoice, or if there is a surplus of funds, a refund. You need to be satisfied that you can afford the service charges because they are what you are paying for the upkeep and maintenance of the whole property/communal areas.
Surveys/condition of the electrics etc - the solicitor is merely advising you that he doesn't visit the property and therefore won't have any knowledge of the boiler/electrics/gas appliances in the property and won't know if they are in good working order or not. Therefore, it is your responsibility to check that they are in good working order. Did the surveyor who carried out your survey turn the appliances on? Were they working on the day of the survey? Did they turn on the taps to see what the water pressure was like? Read your survey and try to understand what the surveyor did test and what they didn't. Bear in mind, surveyors are not heating engineers, so the survey will be limited in what it can tell you. The fact that the solicitor has told you to ensure you've checked the electrics etc is merely to cover their backsides if you move in and find that the boiler has broken down. Not their problem.
Hope that's reasonably helpful - it's basically buyer beware. Estate Agent sells a property, solicitor arranges the transfer from current owner to new owner, and the surveyor goes to visit the property and produces a report on his findings (how detailed that will be is dependent on what kind of survey you instructed them to do).