Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Fratton and Portsea:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Fratton and Portsea, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Fratton and Portsea leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Fratton and Portsea. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Fratton and Portsea - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Fratton and Portsea. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but may include a loft or basement if applicable.
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Fratton and Portsea please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Fratton and Portsea

    • I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Fratton and Portsea.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Fratton and Portsea with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fratton and Portsea can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Fratton and Portsea levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought 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 usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Fratton and Portsea.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Fratton and Portsea state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you dont have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Fratton and Portsea conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Are there frequently found problems that you witness in leases for Fratton and Portsea properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Fratton and Portsea. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

    I purchased a basement flat in Fratton and Portsea, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable flats in Fratton and Portsea with a long lease are worth £200,000. The ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2090

    You have 65 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £14,300 and £16,400 plus costs.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Fratton and Portsea