Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Crossness

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Crossness, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Crossness conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Crossness leasehold conveyancing

I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Crossness.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should 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 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Crossness. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, 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 be sure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Crossness conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Crossness conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Crossness conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • Can they put you in touch with client in Crossness who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the costs for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Crossness from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crossness can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Crossness charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crossness.
  • A minority of Crossness leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice 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 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Completion in due on the disposal of our £300000 maisonette in Crossness in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Crossness?

    Crossness conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

    We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Crossness. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Crossness conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Crossness premises 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 unexpired term was 76 years.