Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water:

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Bourton on the Water leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I would like to rent out my leasehold flat in Bourton on the Water. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your previous Bourton on the Water conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

There are only 68 years left on my lease in Bourton on the Water. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Bourton on the Water.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Bourton on the Water which have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Bourton on the Water is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Bourton on the Water conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agency in Bourton on the Water where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Bourton on the Water conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have 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 simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Bourton on the Water levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bourton on the Water.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Bourton on the Water leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • A minority of Bourton on the Water 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 financial (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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Bourton on the Water home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • I invested in buying a garden flat in Bourton on the Water, conveyancing was carried out 1999. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Bourton on the Water with over 90 years remaining are worth £233,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2100

    With just 75 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as legals.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bourton on the Water