Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Buckden

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Leasehold conveyancing in Buckden is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Buckden and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Top Five Questions relating to Buckden leasehold conveyancing

I only have Seventy years left on my lease in Buckden. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Buckden.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Buckden. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Buckden are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Buckden so you should seriously consider looking for a Buckden conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Buckden where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Buckden conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 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 simultaneously with 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Buckden from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Buckden can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Buckden state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Buckden home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential 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 property on the market for sale.

    • In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Buckden what are the most frequent lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Buckden is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently 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:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Norwich and Peterborough 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

    I purchased a basement flat in Buckden, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Buckden with a long lease are worth £195,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2091

    With only 66 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Buckden