Corwen leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I’m about to sell my garden flat in Corwen.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?
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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Corwen which have about fifty years remaining 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 saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena
I work for a long established estate agency in Corwen where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Corwen conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
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 buyer.
What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Corwen conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Corwen conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Corwen conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:
- How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Corwen what are the most frequent lease defects?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Corwen. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
- A duty to insure the building
- A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
- Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Aldermore 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.
Corwen Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying
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How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?
Does the lease have onerous restrictions?
Plenty Corwen leasehold apartments will have a service charge for maintenance of the building set by the freeholder. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this contribution, usually periodically accross the year. This can differ from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.
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