Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Hastings

Get a Quote

Leasehold conveyancing in Hastings is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Hastings and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Questions and Answers: Hastings leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Hastings. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Hastings - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

I am hoping to complete next month on a studio apartment in Hastings. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. 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:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.For example, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • 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
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • 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 For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Hastings please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Hastings

    • I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Hastings.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

    The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 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.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hastings from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hastings can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Hastings levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hastings.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Hastings state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • Some Hastings leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

    • Completion in due on our sale of a £275000 apartment in Hastings next week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hastings?

    Hastings conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    I own a studio flat in Hastings, conveyancing was carried out in 1997. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Hastings with over 90 years remaining are worth £167,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2076

    You have 51 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as costs.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hastings