Leasehold Conveyancing in Burnham On Crouch - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Burnham On Crouch leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Burnham On Crouch. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Burnham On Crouch.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Burnham On Crouch. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Burnham On Crouch ?

Most houses in Burnham On Crouch are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Burnham On Crouch in which case you should be shopping around for a Burnham On Crouch conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Burnham On Crouch which have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I work for a busy estate agency in Burnham On Crouch where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Burnham On Crouch conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

What makes a Burnham On Crouch lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Burnham On Crouch is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. 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 premises
  • Insurance obligations
  • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
  • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, The Mortgage Works, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Burnham On Crouch - Examples of Queries before buying

    Plenty Burnham On Crouch leasehold properties will have a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the freeholder. Should you purchase the property you will have to meet this charge, normally in instalments during the year. This can differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a exorbitant amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to check it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. How much is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the apartment? How is the lease structured?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Burnham On Crouch