Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Fairford:

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Top Five Questions relating to Fairford leasehold conveyancing

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Fairford. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report 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 Fairford should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Fairford please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Fairford

    • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor flat in Fairford.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

    It best that you 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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.

    I own a leasehold house in Fairford. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Fairford who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

    The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Fairford conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Fairford conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Fairford conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Fairford conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

    • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Fairford in the last twenty four months?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Fairford from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fairford can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Fairford leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Fairford conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, 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 left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’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. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Fairford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      The answer will be important as a) areas could cause problems for the block as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to have full disclosure The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is frequently employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Where a Fairford lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Fairfordlease extensions you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the premises for a couple of years before you are eligible to exercise a lease extension.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Fairford