Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Kilgetty:

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

Kilgetty leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my flat in Kilgetty. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

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. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Kilgetty.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Kilgetty which have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Kilgetty is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 property 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 Kilgetty conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 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 am employed by a busy estate agency in Kilgetty where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Kilgetty conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

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

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Kilgetty conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Kilgetty 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:

  • How many lease extensions have they carried out in Kilgetty in the last twenty four months?
  • What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kilgetty with the intention of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kilgetty can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Kilgetty levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kilgetty.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Kilgetty home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I bought a garden flat in Kilgetty, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Kilgetty with an extended lease are worth £168,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2091

    With 66 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £12,400 and £14,200 plus legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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    Lease Extensions in Kilgetty