Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Harwich:

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Top Five Questions relating to Harwich leasehold conveyancing

I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Harwich.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear the invoice 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.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Harwich where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Harwich conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done 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.

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

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Harwich 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 speak with several firms including non Harwich conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

  • What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Harwich in the last 12 months?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Harwich from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Harwich can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Harwich charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought 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 usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Harwich.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Harwich leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Harwich leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry 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 reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

    • In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Harwich what are the most frequent lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Harwich. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • 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 can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Harwich Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

      How much is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent? The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. On the whole the outlay for major works are not incorporated into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Harwich require leaseholders to contribute towards a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Harwich