Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Buckley

Leasehold conveyancing in Buckley 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 Buckley and across 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 Buckley leasehold conveyancing

There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Buckley. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Buckley.

I own a leasehold house in Buckley. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Buckley who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Buckley conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am attracted to a two flats in Buckley which have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Buckley is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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 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 Buckley 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Buckley from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Buckley can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Buckley levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Buckley.
  • A minority of Buckley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important 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 premises on the market for sale.

  • All being well we will complete the sale of our £275000 flat in Buckley in just under a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Buckley?

    Buckley conveyancing on leasehold apartments often involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    Buckley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

      The prefered form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Its a good idea to find out as much as possible about the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to daily issues such as the cleanliness of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants if they are happy with their management. Finally, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance fees are due to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending the funds. Make sure you enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Buckley. If you love the flatin Buckley but your cat can’t make the move with you then you have a very difficult choice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Buckley