Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, RBS or Bradford & Bingley be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Cottenham conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Sample questions relating to Cottenham leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Cottenham - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

My partner and I may need to let out our Cottenham basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Cottenham conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not think at the time get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Cottenham conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Cottenham. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Cottenham.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Cottenham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. It is an essential part 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).

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

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cottenham can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Cottenham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
  • Some Cottenham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should 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 able to meet 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Cottenham conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I inherited a ground floor flat in Cottenham, conveyancing having been completed in 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Cottenham with an extended lease are worth £166,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2101

    With only 77 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £8,600 and £9,800 as well as professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cottenham