Questions and Answers: Cinderford leasehold conveyancing
I have recently realised that I have 68 years unexpired on my flat in Cinderford. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Cinderford.
Expecting to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Cinderford. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cinderford should include some of the following:
- Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
I am looking at a couple of apartments in Cinderford which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Cinderford is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than eighty 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 premises 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 premises 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 Cinderford conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Cinderford where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Cinderford conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means 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 needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is 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 buyer.
Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cinderford with the intention of saving time on the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cinderford can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
- Many landlords or managing agents in Cinderford charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 Cinderford.
I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Cinderford, conveyancing was carried out in 2000. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Cinderford with over 90 years remaining are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2105
With only 80 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £7,600 and £8,800 plus costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
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