Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Battlesbridge leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Battlesbridge - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

My husband and I may need to sub-let our Battlesbridge basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Battlesbridge conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Battlesbridge do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to review references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Battlesbridge. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Battlesbridge.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Battlesbridge leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
  • A minority of Battlesbridge leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 actual amount of the service charge 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 very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. 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 pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Are there common deficiencies that you see in leases for Battlesbridge properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Battlesbridge. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    I am the registered owner of a garden flat in Battlesbridge, conveyancing was carried out in 2002. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Battlesbridge with a long lease are worth £263,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease runs out on 21st October 2102

    You have 79 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Battlesbridge