Quality lawyers for Leasehold Conveyancing in Chalfont St Giles

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Giles, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, RBS or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Questions and Answers: Chalfont St Giles leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Giles. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Chalfont St Giles - 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Chalfont St Giles. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Chalfont St Giles are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Chalfont St Giles in which case you should be shopping around for a Chalfont St Giles conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Chalfont St Giles. 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. 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Giles from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Giles can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Chalfont St Giles 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 can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Giles.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Chalfont St Giles state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of Chalfont St Giles leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • What makes a Chalfont St Giles lease defective?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Chalfont St Giles is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Bank of Scotland, 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 is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    Chalfont St Giles Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      Be sure to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example it is fairly common in Chalfont St Giles leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Chalfont St Giles. If you love the propertyin Chalfont St Giles however your dog can’t move with you then you will be faced hard decision. What prohibitions exist in the Chalfont St Giles Lease? It is important to be aware if window replacement or some other major work is coming up to be shared by the leasehold owners and could well dramatically increase the the maintenance fees or result in a one time invoice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Chalfont St Giles