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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in East Dean, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a East Dean conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to East Dean leasehold conveyancing

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in East Dean. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in East Dean should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in East Dean please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in East Dean

    • I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in East Dean.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in East Dean. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

    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. It is an essential part 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).

    What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a East Dean conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a East Dean conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non East Dean 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:

    • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in East Dean from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in East Dean can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? East Dean leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
  • A minority of East Dean leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a East Dean home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • I inherited a leasehold flat in East Dean, conveyancing formalities finalised 1996. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in East Dean with an extended lease are worth £231,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2100

    With only 79 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in East Dean