Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Gamlingay

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

Top Five Questions relating to Gamlingay leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my lease in Gamlingay. I now want to get lease extension 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 submit an application 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Gamlingay.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Gamlingay.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Gamlingay. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Gamlingay with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gamlingay can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Gamlingay charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gamlingay.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Gamlingay leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • A minority of Gamlingay leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

    • What makes a Gamlingay lease problematic?

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

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Chelsea Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Gamlingay Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

      Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? Best to be warned if redecorating or some other major work is due shortly to be shared amongst the leasehold owners and will materially increase the the maintenance fees or result in a one off invoice. How much is the service charge and ground rent on the flat?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Gamlingay