Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Bubwith. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Bubwith - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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’m about to sell my garden apartment in Bubwith.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Bubwith which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Bubwith where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Bubwith conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £325000 apartment in Bubwith next week. The managing agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Bubwith?

For most leasehold sales in Bubwith conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Bubwith
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Bubwith leasehold property is £350. For Bubwith conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bubwith - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

Be sure to discover if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For example it is very common in Bubwith leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Bubwith. If you love the apartmentin Bubwith but your dog can’t make the move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice. Please note that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Bubwithlease extensions you would need to own the residence for two years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. Does this lease have in excess of 80 years remaining?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Bubwith