Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Fairwater:

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Fairwater, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Fairwater conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Questions and Answers: Fairwater leasehold conveyancing

There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Fairwater. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Fairwater.

Looking forward to complete next month on a basement flat in Fairwater. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Fairwater please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Fairwater

  • I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Fairwater. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Fairwater ?

    Most houses in Fairwater are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Fairwater in which case you should be looking for a Fairwater conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Fairwater. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 busy estate agent office in Fairwater where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Fairwater conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

    Fairwater Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

      In the main the outlay for major works are not wrapped into the service charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Fairwater ask leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge payments? Many Fairwater leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building set by the management company. If you acquire the flat you will have to meet this liability, usually in instalments during the year. This can differ from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Fairwater