Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Gerrards Cross:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Gerrards Cross, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Gerrards Cross

I have recently realised that I have 68 years remaining on my lease in Gerrards Cross. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Gerrards Cross.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Gerrards Cross. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but could also include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
  • Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Gerrards Cross please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Gerrards Cross

    • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Gerrards Cross.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    It best that you discharge the service charge 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 work for a busy estate agency in Gerrards Cross where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Gerrards Cross conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that 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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Gerrards Cross with the intention of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gerrards Cross can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • A minority of Gerrards Cross leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Gerrards Cross home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a basement flat in Gerrards Cross. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

    Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Gerrards Cross conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Gerrards Cross property is Flats 8, 11 and 15 Craigmore Court 46 Murray Road in December 2013. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 8 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,438 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenants of Flat 11 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,791 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee. The tribunal held that the price payable by the Applicant tenant of Flat 15 to acquire an extended lease shall be £26,638 plus £1 to the intermediate lessee . This case was in relation to 3 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Gerrards Cross