Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Gowerton:

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Gowerton leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Gowerton. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Gowerton.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Gowerton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 looking at a couple of apartments in Gowerton which have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Gowerton. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Gowerton conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Gowerton conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Gowerton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Gowerton in the last 12 months?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Gowerton with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Gowerton can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • Some Gowerton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice 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 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Gowerton home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Gowerton - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      Are there any major works in the planning that will add a premium to the service costs? How is the lease structured? Make sure you investigate if there are any onerous prohibitions in the lease. For instance plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Gowerton. If you like the flatin Gowerton yet your cat can’t live with you then you will be presented with a hard decision.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Gowerton