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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Crossness, you will need to appoint a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Crossness leasehold conveyancing

I want to sublet my leasehold apartment in Crossness. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

A small minority of properties in Crossness 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 review references. Experience dictates 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.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Crossness. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Crossness who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Crossness conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Crossness both have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Crossness with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Crossness can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Crossness levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crossness.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Crossness leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • A minority of Crossness leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • 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 conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Completion in due on our sale of a £325000 flat in Crossness next Thursday . The landlords agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Crossness?

    Crossness conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

    After months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Crossness. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Crossness conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Crossness flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 76 years.