Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal:

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

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Farnham Royal.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 managing agents 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Farnham Royal. Conveyancing and Godiva Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Farnham Royal who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Farnham Royal conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Farnham Royal which have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Farnham Royal where we have experienced a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Farnham Royal conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Farnham Royal state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • A minority of Farnham Royal leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice 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 service charge figures 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 essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing 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 ahead of 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 better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Farnham Royal Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries before buying

      Be sure to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Farnham Royal. If you like the flatin Farnham Royal but your dog can’t move with you then you will be faced difficult compromise. It would be wise to find out as much as possible about the managing agents as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to every day issues such as the tidiness of the common parts. Don't be afraid to ask other people if they are happy with their management. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending the funds. What prohibitions are contained in the Farnham Royal Lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Farnham Royal