Leasehold Conveyancing in Chaddesden - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Chaddesden, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Chaddesden

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Chaddesden. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Chaddesden - 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Chaddesden which have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Chaddesden. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Chaddesden where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Chaddesden conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Chaddesden from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chaddesden can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Chaddesden levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Chaddesden.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Chaddesden conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) 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 wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Chaddesden Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

      The majority of Chaddesden leasehold flats will have a service bill for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the landlord. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly throughout the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. In the main the cost for major works tend not to be wrapped into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Chaddesden obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. Be sure to discover if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Chaddesden leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Chaddesden. If you like the apartmentin Chaddesden yet your cat can’t move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Chaddesden