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

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Leasehold conveyancing in Dronfield 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 Dronfield and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Common questions relating to Dronfield leasehold conveyancing

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Dronfield. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Dronfield please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Dronfield

    • Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Dronfield. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element 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).

    I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Dronfield where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Dronfield conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 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 simultaneously with 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 buyer.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Dronfield with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dronfield can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Dronfield charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for 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 common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dronfield.
  • Some Dronfield leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should 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 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Dronfield home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) 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 conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete the disposal of our £325000 apartment in Dronfield on Tuesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Dronfield?

    Dronfield conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is in excess of £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Dronfield - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      Is there a share of the freehold? Does the lease have onerous restrictions? How many years are left on the lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Dronfield