Leasehold Conveyancing in Great Missenden - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Great Missenden, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Great Missenden conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Great Missenden leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Great Missenden. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Great Missenden.

Planning to complete next month on a basement flat in Great Missenden. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • 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 options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Great Missenden please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Great Missenden

    • I am attracted to a couple of flats in Great Missenden both have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Great Missenden 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 marketability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property 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 premises 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 Great Missenden conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. 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.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Great Missenden from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Great Missenden can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Great Missenden charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Great Missenden.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Great Missenden state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • Some Great Missenden leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Great Missenden what are the most common lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Great Missenden. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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

    A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    I inherited a leasehold flat in Great Missenden, conveyancing having been completed in 2010. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in Great Missenden with over 90 years remaining are worth £247,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2099

    You have 78 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Great Missenden