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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Duxford, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Duxford leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

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

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Duxford.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Duxford. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Duxford are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Duxford so you should seriously consider looking for a Duxford 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 unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold house in Duxford. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Duxford who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Duxford conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured 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 employed by a long established estate agent office in Duxford where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Duxford conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 Duxford with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Duxford can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Duxford levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding 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 reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Duxford.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Duxford state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some Duxford 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 put in hand 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

    • I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Duxford, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Duxford with an extended lease are worth £257,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease finishes on 21st October 2098

    With just 74 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus legals.

    The figure 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 tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Duxford