Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Exton:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Exton, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Exton leasehold conveyancing

There are only Fifty years left on my flat in Exton. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Exton.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Exton which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Exton is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 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 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 a residence 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 Exton 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 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 any new 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Exton. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

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

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Exton can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Exton leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Exton conveyancing deal. Where a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Completion in due on the sale of our £275000 apartment in Exton on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Exton?

    Exton conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Exton - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

      Is the freehold reversion owned collectively by the leaseholders? The answer will be useful as a) areas could result in problems in the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the running of the building you will need to know about it Many Exton leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. If you buy the apartment you will have to meet this contribution, usually in instalments throughout the year. This may be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a exorbitant figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as on occasion it could be prohibitively expensive.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Exton