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Leasehold conveyancing in Heath 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 Heath and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Top Five Questions relating to Heath leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Heath. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Heath - 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.

There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Heath. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Heath.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Heath. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Heath should include some of the following:

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the building.E.G., does the lease grant a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Heath please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Heath

    • I work for a long established estate agency in Heath where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Heath conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

    As long as 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    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.

    What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Heath conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Heath conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Heath conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

    • How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Heath in the last twenty four months?

    • Heath Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      It is important to be aware if changing the roof or some other major work is pending to be shared by the leaseholders and will materially increase the the service fees or require a specific invoice. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? Generally speaking the cost for major works are not included within service charges, although there some managing agents in Heath obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific intention of building a fund for larger works.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Heath