Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Ettington:

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

Common questions relating to Ettington leasehold conveyancing

Due to complete next month on a leasehold property in Ettington. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Ettington should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • 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?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Ettington please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Ettington

    • I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Ettington.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Ettington. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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).

    I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Ettington where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ettington conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    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 buyer.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ettington with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ettington can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Ettington charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ettington.
  • Some Ettington leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Ettington conveyancing transaction. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I bought a studio flat in Ettington, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Ettington with a long lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2089

    With 63 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £17,100 and £19,800 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ettington