Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Castle Bromwich

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Leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich 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 Castle Bromwich and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Castle Bromwich - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

There are only 72 years left on my flat in Castle Bromwich. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?

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 mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Castle Bromwich.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Castle Bromwich. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Castle Bromwich who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Castle Bromwich conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Castle Bromwich. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

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

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Castle Bromwich levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Castle Bromwich.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Castle Bromwich state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Castle Bromwich home move. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Castle Bromwich Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      How much is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent? The answer will be important as a) areas may result in problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will want to have full disclosure On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, although some managing agents in Castle Bromwich ask leasehold owners to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for major works.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Castle Bromwich