Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water:

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Bourton on the Water leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I only have Fifty years unexpired on my lease in Bourton on the Water. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Bourton on the Water.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Bourton on the Water where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Bourton on the Water conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process 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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bourton on the Water state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Bourton on the Water leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Bourton on the Water home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • All being well we will complete the disposal of our £475000 maisonette in Bourton on the Water next week. The managing agents has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Bourton on the Water?

    Bourton on the Water conveyancing on leasehold apartments often requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    What makes a Bourton on the Water lease problematic?

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

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • 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

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Barnsley Building Society, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Bourton on the Water - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that could increase the maintenance fees? The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from control and although a managing agent is usually employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. How is the lease structured?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bourton on the Water