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

While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Colchester, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Frequently asked questions relating to Colchester leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Colchester. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Colchester - 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 hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in Colchester. Conveyancing lawyers 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 Colchester should include some of the following:

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • The total extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but might include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
  • Defining your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Colchester please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Colchester

  • My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Colchester. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Colchester who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

    The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Colchester conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured 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 work for a long established estate agency in Colchester where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Colchester conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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 purchaser.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Colchester what are the most common lease problems?

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

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts 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 could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    I own a basement flat in Colchester, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Colchester with over 90 years remaining are worth £198,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2086

    You have 61 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as costs.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Colchester