Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Lancing

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Leasehold conveyancing in Lancing 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 Lancing 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 Lancing

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Lancing. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission 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 prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Lancing.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Lancing.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Lancing both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lancing with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lancing can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Lancing levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lancing.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Lancing state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • Some Lancing leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.

    • All being well we will complete the disposal of our £300000 maisonette in Lancing next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Lancing?

    Lancing conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    Lancing Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

      Make sure you enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in Lancing. If you like the flatin Lancing but your dog can’t live with you then you will be presented with a difficult decision. Plenty Lancing leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building levied on behalf of the management company. Where you acquire the flat you will have to pay this amount, usually quarterly throughout the year. This may vary from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal grounds. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, this is usually not a exorbitant amount, say around £50-£100 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds. How much is the ground rent and service charge?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Lancing