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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Eaglescliffe leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all 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.

I am looking at a two apartments in Eaglescliffe both have about 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Eaglescliffe is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 property 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. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Eaglescliffe where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Eaglescliffe conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

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

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Eaglescliffe levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Eaglescliffe leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • Some Eaglescliffe leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore essential 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 home on the market for sale.

    • Are there common deficiencies that you encounter in leases for Eaglescliffe properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Eaglescliffe is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You could encounter 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. Birmingham Midshires, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Eaglescliffe Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

      The answer will be useful as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will need to know about it Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? What prohibitions are there in the Eaglescliffe Lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Eaglescliffe