Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hurworth:

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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Hurworth

I only have Fifty years remaining on my flat in Hurworth. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used 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 absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hurworth.

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Hurworth. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a loft or basement if appropriate.
  • Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or working from home
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Hurworth please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Hurworth

    • I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Hurworth where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Hurworth conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    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 are your top tips when it comes to finding a Hurworth conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hurworth conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Hurworth conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

    • If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hurworth from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hurworth can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Hurworth leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Hurworth 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 obtain 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. 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 prior to 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 ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Hurworth home move. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Hurworth Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      You will want to find out as much as you can regarding the managing agents as they can either make living at the property much easier or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day matters like the cleanliness of the common parts. Enquire of other people if they are happy with them. On a final note, be sure you understand the dates that the service fees are due to the relevant party and precisely how they are spending that money. This question is important as a) areas may result in problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it Who is in charge of the block?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hurworth