Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hastings:

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

Frequently asked questions relating to Hastings leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Hastings. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Hastings - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Hastings. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • 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
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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 the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Hastings please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Hastings

    • I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Hastings.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

    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 managing agents 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    I am looking at a two apartments in Hastings which have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There are plenty of short leases in Hastings. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

    I work for a reputable estate agency in Hastings where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Hastings conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

    Hastings Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will likely increase the service charges? Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other significant cost is pending that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and will materially impact the level of the service costs or result in a specific payment. Plenty Hastings leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building levied by the management company. Should you buy the flat you will have to meet this amount, normally periodically throughout the year. This can vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built buildings. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you should to check it because occasionally it can be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hastings