Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Godshill

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

Godshill leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Godshill. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Godshill - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

My partner and I may need to rent out our Godshill garden flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Godshill conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease governs relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. The majority of leases in Godshill do not contain an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a duplicate of the sublease.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Godshill.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 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 am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Godshill where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Godshill conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 Godshill from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Godshill can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Godshill charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have 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 frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Godshill.
  • Some Godshill 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 bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I purchased a 1 bedroom flat in Godshill, conveyancing having been completed 2007. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Godshill with over 90 years remaining are worth £245,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease expires on 21st October 2083

    With just 57 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £23,800 and £27,400 plus costs.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do 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 you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Godshill