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

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Top Five Questions relating to Cottenham leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Cottenham - 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.

I only have Sixty One years left on my flat in Cottenham. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Cottenham.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Cottenham. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Cottenham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Cottenham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • A minority of Cottenham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Cottenham home move. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • All being well we will complete our sale of a £425000 flat in Cottenham next week. The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Cottenham?

    Cottenham conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not requires the purchaser’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 do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    Cottenham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

      Plenty Cottenham leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the management company. Where you purchase the property you will have to meet this amount, usually in instalments accross the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say around £25-£75 but you need to check it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. Can you tell me if there are any major works anticipated that will increase the maintenance fees? It would be a good idea to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is very common in Cottenham leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Cottenham. If you like the apartmentin Cottenham but your cat is not allowed to live with you then you have a very difficult choice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cottenham