Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Henbury:

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Sample questions relating to Henbury leasehold conveyancing

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Henbury. Conveyancing solicitors inform me 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 Henbury should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • 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
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Henbury please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Henbury

    • I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Henbury.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

    It best that you pay 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 work for a long established estate agent office in Henbury where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Henbury conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 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 purchaser.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Henbury with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Henbury can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Henbury charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to 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 receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Henbury.
  • A minority of Henbury leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers 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 put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Henbury home move. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Henbury what are the most common lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Henbury is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Chelsea Building Society, and TSB 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    I purchased a basement flat in Henbury, conveyancing was carried out in 2002. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Henbury with over 90 years remaining are worth £269,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2100

    With just 76 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Henbury