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

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cotswolds, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest be sure to find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Cotswolds conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Cotswolds leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Cotswolds. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Cotswolds - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my flat in Cotswolds. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Cotswolds.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Cotswolds. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • 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 Cotswolds please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Cotswolds

    • I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Cotswolds.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 until 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.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Cotswolds what are the most common lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Cotswolds is not unique. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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

    You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    I bought a 1 bedroom flat in Cotswolds, conveyancing having been completed in 2002. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in Cotswolds with an extended lease are worth £188,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease ends on 21st October 2081

    With only 58 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £22,800 and £26,400 plus legals.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cotswolds