Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood:

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

Sample questions relating to Kingswood leasehold conveyancing

My partner and I may need to rent out our Kingswood garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Kingswood conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Even though your last Kingswood conveyancing solicitor is not around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you must seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior permission. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden apartment in Kingswood.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Kingswood which have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Kingswood. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I work for a long established estate agency in Kingswood where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Kingswood conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

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 can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Kingswood levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Kingswood state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • A minority of Kingswood leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Kingswood home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • I bought a basement flat in Kingswood, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. 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? Corresponding properties in Kingswood with an extended lease are worth £197,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2087

    With only 62 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £18,100 and £20,800 as well as legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Kingswood