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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Denbigh, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Denbigh conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Denbigh leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Denbigh. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Denbigh should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The total extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a roof space or basement if applicable.
  • Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Denbigh please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Denbigh

    • I've recently bought a leasehold property in Denbigh. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. However, 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 ensure 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Denbigh from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Denbigh can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Denbigh levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. 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 frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Denbigh.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Denbigh state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • A minority of Denbigh leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £475000 apartment in Denbigh on Monday in a week. The management company has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Denbigh?

    Denbigh conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally requires the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations 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 charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    Are there common defects that you encounter in leases for Denbigh properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Denbigh is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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 will 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. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Barnsley Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    I invested in buying a garden flat in Denbigh, conveyancing formalities finalised 2012. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar flats in Denbigh with a long lease are worth £240,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2076

    You have 52 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £36,100 and £41,800 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Denbigh