Leasehold Conveyancing in Lakenheath - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Leasehold conveyancing in Lakenheath is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Lakenheath and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Lakenheath

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Lakenheath. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Lakenheath - 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.

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years left on my lease in Lakenheath. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Lakenheath.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Lakenheath.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 work for a reputable estate agent office in Lakenheath where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Lakenheath conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lakenheath from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lakenheath can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Lakenheath levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lakenheath.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Lakenheath leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase 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 resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Lakenheath conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • I own a 2 bed flat in Lakenheath, conveyancing having been completed 2007. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar properties in Lakenheath with a long lease are worth £169,000. The ground rent is £65 levied per year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2088

    With only 63 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £17,100 and £19,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Lakenheath