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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Ardleigh Green, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, RBS or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Ardleigh Green leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I have recently realised that I have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Ardleigh Green. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Ardleigh Green.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Ardleigh Green.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Ardleigh Green. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Ardleigh Green ?

Most houses in Ardleigh Green are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Ardleigh Green in which case you should be shopping around for a Ardleigh Green conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should appraise you on the various issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Ardleigh Green. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. However, 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 ensure 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ardleigh Green with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ardleigh Green can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Ardleigh Green leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Ardleigh Green leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Ardleigh Green conveyancing deal. Where a new share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Having spent years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ardleigh Green. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Ardleigh Green residence is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 57.5 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ardleigh Green