Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Brixham:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Brixham, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Recently asked questions relating to Brixham leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Brixham. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Brixham - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Brixham. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully 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 Brixham should include some of the following:

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Brixham please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Brixham

    • I work for a long established estate agent office in Brixham where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Brixham conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    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 purchaser.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Brixham with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Brixham can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Brixham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Brixham.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder 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 nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Brixham home move. If a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage 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.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Brixham what are the most common lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Brixham is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain sections are not included. 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 building
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed 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 problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Brixham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

      Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? You should be aware if it is less than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the flat. Check with your lender that they are happy with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Brixhamlease extensions you would need to own the premises for a couple of years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension. Make sure you enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Brixham leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Brixham. If you love the flatin Brixham however your cat can’t live with you then you have a very difficult choice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Brixham