Leasehold Conveyancing in Leigh On Sea - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Sample questions relating to Leigh On Sea leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Leigh On Sea. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Leigh On Sea - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 just started marketing my garden apartment in Leigh On Sea.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 until 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Leigh On Sea. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Leigh On Sea where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Leigh On Sea conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Leigh On Sea from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Leigh On Sea can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Leigh On Sea charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. 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 Leigh On Sea.
  • Some Leigh On Sea leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures 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 prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Leigh On Sea home move. Where a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Leigh On Sea, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2006. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Leigh On Sea with an extended lease are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2087

    With just 63 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £20,900 and £24,200 as well as costs.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Leigh On Sea