Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Bodmin

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Leasehold conveyancing in Bodmin is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Bodmin and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Top Five Questions relating to Bodmin leasehold conveyancing

There are only Sixty One years left on my lease in Bodmin. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Bodmin.

Planning to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Bodmin. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bodmin should include some of the following:

  • The physical extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a loft or basement if applicable.
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
  • 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 Bodmin please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Bodmin

    • I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Bodmin.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    It best that you 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bodmin from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bodmin can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bodmin state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Bodmin home move. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Are there common problems that you witness in leases for Bodmin properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Bodmin is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could encounter 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. HSBC Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    I acquired a ground floor flat in Bodmin, conveyancing was carried out in 1999. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Bodmin with an extended lease are worth £174,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2085

    You have 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing 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 are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bodmin