Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Clophill

Get a Quote

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

Questions and Answers: Clophill leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Clophill. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Clophill.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Clophill. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Clophill please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Clophill

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Clophill. Conveyancing and Norwich and Peterborough Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Clophill who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

    The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Clophill conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Clophill where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Clophill conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

    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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Clophill with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Clophill can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Clophill levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Clophill.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Clophill state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • Some Clophill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

    • Clophill Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability? What is the maintenance charge and ground rent on the flat? It would be prudent to find out as much as you can about the company managing the building as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other people whether they are happy with them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Clophill