Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Handforth:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Handforth, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Handforth conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Sample questions relating to Handforth leasehold conveyancing

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Handforth. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Handforth who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Handforth conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Handforth. Am I liable to pay 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Handforth where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Handforth conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Handforth from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Handforth can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Handforth levy fees 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 reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Handforth.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Handforth leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of Handforth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Handforth home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • What makes a Handforth lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Handforth. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • 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 will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Virgin Money, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Handforth, conveyancing having been completed in 2012. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Handforth with over 90 years remaining are worth £213,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2085

    You have 62 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,000 and £23,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" 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 detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Handforth