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Questions and Answers: Bessacarr leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Bessacarr. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

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

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Bessacarr.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 attracted to a two maisonettes in Bessacarr which have about 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Bessacarr is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, 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 Bessacarr 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bessacarr with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bessacarr can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Bessacarr state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Bessacarr 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 obtain bank and professional references. Any 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Bessacarr conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Completion in due on the disposal of our £175000 apartment in Bessacarr on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Bessacarr?

    Bessacarr conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often requires the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

    Bessacarr Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      The best form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Where a Bessacarr lease has less than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out what this would cost. For most Bessacarrlease extensions you would need to own the property for 24 months in order to be eligible to exercise a lease extension. Many Bessacarr leasehold flats will have a service charge for maintenance of the building invoiced by the freeholder. If you purchase the property you will have to meet this charge, usually periodically accross the year. This can be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bessacarr