Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Finchampstead:

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Sample questions relating to Finchampstead leasehold conveyancing

I only have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Finchampstead. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Finchampstead.

Looking forward to complete next month on a leasehold property in Finchampstead. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You must be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Finchampstead please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Finchampstead

    • I own a leasehold house in Finchampstead. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Finchampstead who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    First contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Finchampstead conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I work for a reputable estate agent office in Finchampstead where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Finchampstead conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

    As long as 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Finchampstead from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Finchampstead can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Finchampstead charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Finchampstead.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Finchampstead state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • A minority of Finchampstead leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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. Any 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing 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 ahead of 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 better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

    • I inherited a garden flat in Finchampstead, conveyancing was carried out in 2000. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Finchampstead with an extended lease are worth £261,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2086

    With 62 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £19,000 and £22,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Finchampstead