Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Cotham:

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Cotham, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Cotham leasehold conveyancing

There are only 62 years left on my flat in Cotham. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Cotham.

Planning to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Cotham. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cotham should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Cotham please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Cotham

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Cotham. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Cotham who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Cotham conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Cotham conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

    When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Cotham conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Cotham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

    • How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • How many lease extensions have they carried out in Cotham in the last twenty four months?

    • All being well we will complete our sale of a £425000 flat in Cotham on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Cotham?

    Cotham conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Cotham - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      What is the name of the managing agents? If a Cotham lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the salability of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. What is the annual service fee and ground rent?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cotham