Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Dorchester

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Dorchester leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my flat in Dorchester. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Dorchester.

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Dorchester.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you discharge the invoice 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 managing agents 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 today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Dorchester. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Dorchester are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Dorchester so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Dorchester conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Dorchester charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dorchester.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Dorchester conveyancing deal. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Completion in due on the disposal of our £225000 garden flat in Dorchester in 5 days. The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Dorchester?

    Dorchester conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the buyer’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

    I inherited a split level flat in Dorchester, conveyancing was carried out 8 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Dorchester with a long lease are worth £194,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2099

    You have 75 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus 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 without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Dorchester