Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Lindfield:

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Common questions relating to Lindfield leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Lindfield. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Lindfield.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Lindfield.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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 hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Lindfield. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Lindfield are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Lindfield so you should seriously consider looking for a Lindfield conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Lindfield which have approximately fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

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

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lindfield can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Lindfield charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lindfield.
  • Some Lindfield leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 service charge figures 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 essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. 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 prior to 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 present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Lindfield home move. If a reissued share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Lindfield Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

      How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Best to be warned whether window replacement or some other major work is due in the foreseeable future that will be shared amongst the leasehold owners and will dramatically increase the the maintenance charges or necessitate a one off invoice. The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this arrangement the leaseholders benefit from control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Lindfield