Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Feltwell. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Feltwell - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I only have 72 years remaining on my flat in Feltwell. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

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 lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Feltwell.

I own a leasehold house in Feltwell. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Feltwell who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Feltwell conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Feltwell with the intention of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Feltwell can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Feltwell state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.

A minority of Feltwell leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Feltwell home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

All being well we will complete the sale of our £325000 apartment in Feltwell on Friday in a week. The management company has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Feltwell?

For most leasehold sales in Feltwell conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Feltwell
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Feltwell leasehold premises is £350. For Feltwell conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

Feltwell Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

For many Feltwell leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, although some managing agents in Feltwell obliged leasehold owners to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major works. You will want to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will either make your life much simpler or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the upkeep of the communal areas. You should not be shy to ask other tenants if they are happy with their management. On a final note, be sure you discover the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending the funds. Does the lease have onerous restrictions?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Feltwell