Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Ivybridge:

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Ivybridge, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, RBS or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Ivybridge leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my lease in Ivybridge. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Ivybridge.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Ivybridge both have approximately fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Ivybridge is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 a residence 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 Ivybridge 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Ivybridge. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

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

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Ivybridge conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Ivybridge conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ivybridge from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ivybridge can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Ivybridge charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ivybridge.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Ivybridge conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Ivybridge Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

      How long is the Lease? It would be sensible to discover if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance it is very common in Ivybridge leases that pets are not permitted in in a block in Ivybridge. If you like the flatin Ivybridge but your cat is not allowed to make the move with you then you will be faced difficult choice. Many Ivybridge leasehold properties will incur a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the landlord. If you purchase the flat you will have to meet this amount, usually quarterly accross the year. This can be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a exorbitant sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to check as occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ivybridge