Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Clayton

Get a Quote

Looking for a solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Clayton on your lender’s panel? Make use of our search tool to find quality local Clayton conveyancing lawyers or national solicitors on your lender’s panel .

Sample questions relating to Clayton leasehold conveyancing

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Clayton. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Clayton should include some of the following:

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Clayton please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Clayton

    • I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Clayton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 ensure 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).

    What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Clayton conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Clayton conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Clayton conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

    • How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Clayton in the last twenty four months?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Clayton from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Clayton can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Clayton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Clayton.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Clayton state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Clayton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

    • What are the frequently found defects that you see in leases for Clayton properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Clayton. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You may 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. Birmingham Midshires, Chelsea Building Society, and Aldermore 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, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Clayton Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      The answer will be useful as a) areas may cause problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to have all the details Please inform me if there are any major works on the horizon that will likely increase the service charges? Who is in charge of the building?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Clayton