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

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Crosby, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Crosby leasehold conveyancing

I only have 68 years left on my lease in Crosby. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Crosby.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Crosby.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Crosby which have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crosby with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Crosby can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Crosby charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crosby.
  • Some Crosby leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Crosby home move. Where a duplicate share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

  • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £125000 flat in Crosby in seven days. The freeholder has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Crosby?

    For the majority of leasehold sales in Crosby conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

    • Answering pre-exchange enquiries
    • Where consent is required before sale in Crosby
    • Copies of the building insurance and schedule
    • Deeds of covenant upon sale
    • Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
    Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Crosby leasehold premises is £350. For Crosby conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply answers.

    I am the registered owner of a leasehold flat in Crosby, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable properties in Crosby with an extended lease are worth £169,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2093

    With 69 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Crosby