Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Stortford:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Stortford, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Bishops Stortford leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Stortford. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Bishops Stortford - 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 hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Bishops Stortford. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Bishops Stortford ?

Most houses in Bishops Stortford are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Bishops Stortford in which case you should be looking for a Bishops Stortford conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Bishops Stortford. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Bishops Stortford where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Bishops Stortford conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Stortford with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Stortford can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Bishops Stortford charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bishops Stortford.
  • A minority of Bishops Stortford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice 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 annual 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Bishops Stortford home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary 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 it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Bishops Stortford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

      You should be aware that where the lease has less than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Bishops Stortfordlease extensions you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for two years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension. You should want to discover as much as possible about the managing agents as they will either make your living at the property much simpler or a lot more difficult. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask other tenants whether they are happy with them. Finally, be sure you discover the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending that money. Who are the managing agents?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bishops Stortford