Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Greenfield:

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

Top Five Questions relating to Greenfield leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Greenfield. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Greenfield should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • 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 rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Greenfield please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Greenfield

    • I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Greenfield.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

    It best that you 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Greenfield. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

    If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

    Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Greenfield conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Greenfield conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Greenfield conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

    • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What are the costs for lease extension work?

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Greenfield what are the most frequent lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Greenfield. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Greenfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

      Many Greenfield leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the building levied by the freeholder. Where you buy the apartment you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments throughout the year. This may be anything from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. How is the lease structured? You should be aware if it is less than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are content with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would be be obliged to have owned the property for two years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Greenfield