Leasehold Conveyancing in Hazlemere - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere, 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 Hazlemere leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Hazlemere - 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.

My wife and I may need to sub-let our Hazlemere 1st floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Hazlemere conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Hazlemere conveyancing lawyer is not around you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Hazlemere. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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).

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Hazlemere where we see a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Hazlemere conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Hazlemere levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for 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 frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Hazlemere state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Hazlemere leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I acquired a garden flat in Hazlemere, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Hazlemere with an extended lease are worth £173,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2085

    With 62 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hazlemere