Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Cookham
There are only Fifty years left on my flat in Cookham. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Cookham.
I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Cookham. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Cookham are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Cookham in which case you should be shopping around for a Cookham conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Cookham which have about 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena
I am employed by a busy estate agency in Cookham where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Cookham conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
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.
We expect to complete our sale of a £275000 maisonette in Cookham on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cookham?
Cookham conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves administration charges raised by landlords agents :
- Completing pre-exchange enquiries
- Where consent is required before sale in Cookham
- Copies of the building insurance and schedule
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Cookham, conveyancing formalities finalised 2002. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Cookham with over 90 years remaining are worth £230,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2096
You have 72 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as costs.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
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