Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Bollington

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Top Five Questions relating to Bollington leasehold conveyancing

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to let out our Bollington basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Bollington conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Some leases for properties in Bollington do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Bollington where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Bollington conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner 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 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bollington with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bollington can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Bollington charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information 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 common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bollington.
  • Some Bollington leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, 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 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Bollington home move. Where a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Completion in due on the sale of our £425000 garden flat in Bollington in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Bollington?

    Bollington conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions 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 situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    What makes a Bollington lease unmortgageable?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bollington. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • 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

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Bollington Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      How much is the ground rent and service charge? You should want to discover as much as possible about the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much simpler or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day issues like the tidiness of the common parts. Ask other tenants whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, find out the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and precisely what it includes. For many Bollington leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Bollington obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major repairs or maintenance.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bollington