Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe:

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

Frequently asked questions relating to Eaglescliffe leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Eaglescliffe - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Eaglescliffe. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Eaglescliffe.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Eaglescliffe. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Eaglescliffe are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Eaglescliffe so you should seriously consider looking for a Eaglescliffe conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am looking at a two flats in Eaglescliffe which have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Eaglescliffe is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Eaglescliffe conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Eaglescliffe charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe.
  • A minority of Eaglescliffe 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 put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Eaglescliffe home move. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Eaglescliffe Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      Is the freehold owned collectively by the tenants? Are there any major works in the planning that could increase the service fees? Many Eaglescliffe leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service charge for the upkeep of the building levied on behalf of the landlord. If you acquire the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly accross the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to check it because sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Eaglescliffe