Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Kingswood

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Kingswood, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Kingswood conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Kingswood leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Kingswood - 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.

There are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Kingswood. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Kingswood.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Kingswood. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Kingswood ?

The majority of houses in Kingswood are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Kingswood in which case you should be shopping around for a Kingswood conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Kingswood both have in the region of 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 flat in Kingswood is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less attractive. 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 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 Kingswood 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 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Kingswood levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingswood.
  • A minority of Kingswood leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Kingswood Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

      If a Kingswood lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the value of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have owned the property for 24 months before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension. It is important to be aware if a new roof is being installed or some other major work is pending that will be shared between the tenants and will materially increase the the maintenance fees or result in a one off invoice. The best form of lease arrangement is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Kingswood