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

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Coleford, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Sample questions relating to Coleford leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Coleford. 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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Coleford.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Coleford. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • 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
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Coleford please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Coleford

  • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Coleford.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    It best that you clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Coleford where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Coleford conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Coleford what are the most common lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Coleford. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair 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

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Chelsea Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    Coleford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is often employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. Who is in charge of the block? Its a good idea to discover as much as possible about the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues such as the cleanliness of the common parts. Don't be afraid to ask other tenants what they think of them. On a final note, be sure you discover the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically how they are spending the funds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Coleford