Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Freshwater

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Common questions relating to Freshwater leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years unexpired on my flat in Freshwater. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Freshwater.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Freshwater. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Freshwater should include some of the following:

  • Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the building.For example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • 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 Freshwater please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Freshwater

    • Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Freshwater. Conveyancing and Aldermore 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 solicitor in Freshwater who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Freshwater conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Freshwater both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Freshwater is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Freshwater conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Freshwater with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Freshwater can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Freshwater state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of Freshwater leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Freshwater home move. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Freshwater Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

      If a Freshwater lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the value of the property. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for two years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Freshwater obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for major works.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Freshwater