Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Gloucester. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

• You should receive a copy of the lease

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Gloucester which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Gloucester is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 a residence 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 Gloucester conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Gloucester where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Gloucester conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner 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 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 disposal of the property.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gloucester can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Gloucester leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.

Completion in due on the sale of our £425000 apartment in Gloucester in just under a week. The management company has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Gloucester?

Gloucester conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

Gloucester Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Please note that where the lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the premises for two years in order to be entitled to carry out a lease extension. What restrictions exist in the Gloucester Lease? Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Gloucester