Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh:

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Common questions relating to Buckfastleigh leasehold conveyancing

Planning to complete next month on a garden flat in Buckfastleigh. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh should include some of the following:

  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Buckfastleigh please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Buckfastleigh

    • I am looking at a two maisonettes in Buckfastleigh which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Buckfastleigh is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with under eighty 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 premises 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 a residence 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 Buckfastleigh 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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 reputable estate agent office in Buckfastleigh where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Buckfastleigh conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 can avoid having 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 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 purchaser.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Buckfastleigh levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Buckfastleigh.
  • Some Buckfastleigh leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Buckfastleigh conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £200000 flat in Buckfastleigh on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Buckfastleigh?

    Buckfastleigh conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    Buckfastleigh Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      Are there any major works anticipated that will increase the service fees? Who are the managing agents? Its a good idea to discover as much as you can concerning the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much easier or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending that money.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Buckfastleigh