Leasehold Conveyancing in Farnham Royal - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Farnham Royal. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Farnham Royal.

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Farnham Royal.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Farnham Royal where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Farnham Royal conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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 purchaser.

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

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Farnham Royal levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Farnham Royal leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal what are the most frequent lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Farnham Royal is not unique. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Virgin Money, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    I inherited a garden flat in Farnham Royal, conveyancing having been completed in 1999. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Equivalent flats in Farnham Royal with a long lease are worth £233,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2084

    With 63 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as costs.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Farnham Royal