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

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

Common questions relating to Church End leasehold conveyancing

Jane (my partner) and I may need to rent out our Church End garden flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Church End conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not think at the time seek any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

A small minority of properties in Church End do contain a provision to say that subletting is only allowed with permission. The landlord cannot unreasonably withhold but, in such cases, they would need to see references. Experience suggests that problems are usually caused by unsatisfactory tenants rather than owner-occupiers and for that reason you can expect the freeholder to take up the references and consider them carefully before granting permission.

I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Church End.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Church End which have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Church End. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Church End. 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 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 Church End with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Church End can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • A minority of Church End 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 bank and professional references. The 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Church End home move. Where a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Following months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Church End. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Church End property is Ground Floor 110 Station Road in June 2013. The Tribunal found that the premium payable for a lease extension should be £31,665. This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 56.65 years.