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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Leyland, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Leyland conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Leyland leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Leyland. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

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

Planning to exchange soon on a basement flat in Leyland. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Leyland should include some of the following:

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide. For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Leyland please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Leyland

    • I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Leyland where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Leyland conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is 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.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Leyland from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Leyland can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Leyland state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Leyland leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes 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 reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Leyland what are the most frequent lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Leyland is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Leyland, conveyancing having been completed 9 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Leyland with a long lease are worth £265,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease ends on 21st October 2077

    With just 54 years left to run the likely cost is going to span between £32,300 and £37,400 as well as professional fees.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Leyland