Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Ascot

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Ascot, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Ascot conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Sample questions relating to Ascot leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Ascot. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Ascot - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Expecting to complete next month on a leasehold property in Ascot. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Ascot should include some of the following:

  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Ascot please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Ascot

    • I work for a long established estate agent office in Ascot where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ascot conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start 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 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ascot from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ascot can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Ascot charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ascot.
  • 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 Ascot state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Ascot leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 better to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

    • Completion in due on the sale of our £325000 flat in Ascot next week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Ascot?

    Ascot conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally requires the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Ascot - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

      You should want to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of prospective neighbours what they think of their service. On a final note, be sure you discover the dates that the service charges are due to the relevant party and precisely what you get for your money. Does this lease have in excess of 80 years unexpired? The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees have control and although a managing agent is usually employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ascot