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Fleet leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I only have Fifty years left on my lease in Fleet. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Fleet.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Fleet.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 until 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 Fleet which have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Fleet where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Fleet conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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 buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Fleet with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fleet can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Fleet charge for providing 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 on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Fleet.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Fleet state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • Some Fleet leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

    • Fleet Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

      The best form of lease structure is where the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is often retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. How many years remain on the lease? Its a good idea to find out as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of prospective neighbours whether they are happy with them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the service fees are due to the relevant party and specifically how they are spending the funds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Fleet