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Leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Questions and Answers: Cross Keys leasehold conveyancing

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Cross Keys. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Cross Keys are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Cross Keys in which case you should be looking for a Cross Keys conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Cross Keys. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Cross Keys who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Cross Keys conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Cross Keys both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Cross Keys where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Cross Keys conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cross Keys can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Cross Keys leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • A minority of Cross Keys leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Cross Keys conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Cross Keys Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      Many Cross Keys leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments accross the year. This could differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be prohibitively expensive. The answer will be useful as a) areas may result in problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if services remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it If a Cross Keys lease has fewer than 80 years it will impact the value of the flat. Check with your mortgage company that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the premises for two years before you are legally able to extend the lease.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cross Keys