Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Hornsea

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

Top Five Questions relating to Hornsea leasehold conveyancing

Helen (my wife) and I may need to sub-let our Hornsea ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Hornsea conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Hornsea do contain a provision to say that subletting is only permitted with prior consent from the landlord. The landlord is not entitled to unreasonably refuse but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience dictates that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Hornsea which have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Hornsea is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Hornsea conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Hornsea where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Hornsea conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Hornsea conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hornsea conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Hornsea conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Hornsea in the last twenty four months?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hornsea from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hornsea can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Hornsea leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • Some Hornsea leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Hornsea - A selection of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      Are there any major works on the horizon that will increase the service charges? How long is the Lease? The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this scenario the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually retained if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hornsea