Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Arundel:

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Recently asked questions relating to Arundel leasehold conveyancing

There are only 62 years left on my lease in Arundel. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Arundel.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Arundel. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Arundel are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Arundel so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Arundel conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Arundel both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Arundel is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Arundel conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Arundel with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Arundel can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Arundel charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Arundel.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Arundel leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • Some Arundel leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

    • What makes a Arundel lease defective?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Arundel. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Arundel - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues like the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, be sure you know the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money. Make sure you discover if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Arundel. If you like the propertyin Arundel but your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a hard decision. Does the lease contain onerous restrictions?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Arundel