Recently asked questions relating to Kimbolton leasehold conveyancing
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Kimbolton. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.
Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Kimbolton - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Kimbolton. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).
I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Kimbolton where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Kimbolton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 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 buyer.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kimbolton with the intention of speeding up the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kimbolton can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
- In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Kimbolton state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
Are there frequently found deficiencies that you see in leases for Kimbolton properties?
Leasehold conveyancing in Kimbolton is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
- A duty to insure the building
- Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
- Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage
A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Leeds Building Society, and Britannia all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.
I acquired a studio flat in Kimbolton, conveyancing having been completed in 2003. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar flats in Kimbolton with a long lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £60 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2085
With only 64 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £14,300 and £16,400 as well as legals.
The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
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