Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Colsterworth:

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Colsterworth, you will need to appoint a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Colsterworth conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Colsterworth leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Colsterworth. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, 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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Colsterworth.

I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Colsterworth. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Colsterworth ?

The majority of houses in Colsterworth are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Colsterworth so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Colsterworth conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Colsterworth. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Colsterworth where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Colsterworth conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 Colsterworth with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Colsterworth can be reduced where you instruct 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 purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Colsterworth charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Colsterworth.
  • Some Colsterworth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I invested in buying a 1st floor flat in Colsterworth, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Colsterworth with an extended lease are worth £192,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2098

    With 73 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Colsterworth