Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Langstone

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Leasehold conveyancing in Langstone 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 Langstone and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Recently asked questions relating to Langstone leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Langstone. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Langstone should include some of the following:

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Langstone please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Langstone

    • I am attracted to a couple of flats in Langstone which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

    I've recently bought a leasehold house in Langstone. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

    In a situation 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. Strange as it may seem, 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 be sure 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).

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Langstone with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Langstone can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Langstone levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Langstone.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Langstone leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • Some Langstone leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing 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 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.

    • What makes a Langstone lease defective?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Langstone. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Langstone Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

      Is there a share of the freehold? You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will impact the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for two years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. The best form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants have being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually retained if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Langstone