Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Billericay:

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Billericay leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Billericay. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

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

There are only 72 years left on my flat in Billericay. I am keen to extend my lease 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Billericay.

I work for a busy estate agency in Billericay where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Billericay conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Billericay conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Billericay conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Billericay 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 experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

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

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Billericay can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Billericay charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Billericay.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Billericay leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • Some Billericay leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important 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 pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

    • I acquired a split level flat in Billericay, conveyancing was carried out 1996. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Equivalent flats in Billericay with a long lease are worth £214,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2089

    With only 63 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Billericay