Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Beaconsfield:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Beaconsfield, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Beaconsfield conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Beaconsfield leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Beaconsfield. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Beaconsfield - 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.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Beaconsfield where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Beaconsfield conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Beaconsfield conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Beaconsfield conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Beaconsfield conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

  • How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Beaconsfield who can give a testimonial?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Beaconsfield with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Beaconsfield can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Beaconsfield levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Beaconsfield.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Beaconsfield home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • What are the frequently found defects that you see in leases for Beaconsfield properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Beaconsfield. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • 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

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express 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, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Beaconsfield, conveyancing having been completed 7 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Beaconsfield with an extended lease are worth £249,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2075

    With only 51 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £34,200 and £39,600 plus legals.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Beaconsfield