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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Dunvant, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Dunvant

I own a leasehold house in Dunvant. Conveyancing and Nationwide Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Dunvant who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Dunvant conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a long established estate agency in Dunvant where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Dunvant conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Dunvant conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Dunvant conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Dunvant conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Dunvant in the last year?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Dunvant from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Dunvant can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Dunvant state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • Some Dunvant 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 annual 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 there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 historic rather than ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Are there frequently found problems that you witness in leases for Dunvant properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Dunvant. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Dunvant Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? Does the lease have onerous restrictions? For most Dunvant leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be wrapped into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Dunvant obliged tenants to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Dunvant