Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Blythe Bridge

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Sample questions relating to Blythe Bridge leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Blythe Bridge. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Blythe Bridge.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Blythe Bridge. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge should include some of the following:

  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Blythe Bridge please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Blythe Bridge

    • I work for a reputable estate agent office in Blythe Bridge where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Blythe Bridge conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 wait 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.

    An alternative approach is 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.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Blythe Bridge charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for 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 reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Blythe Bridge state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • A minority of Blythe Bridge leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

    • In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge what are the most frequent lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Blythe Bridge. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Blythe Bridge - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      Does the lease include onerous restrictions? How is the lease structured? Generally speaking the cost for major works are not included within service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Blythe Bridge require tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Blythe Bridge