Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Dagenham

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Dagenham, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Dagenham conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Dagenham leasehold conveyancing

Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Dagenham. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Dagenham should include some of the following:

  • Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Dagenham please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Dagenham

    • I am looking at a two apartments in Dagenham both have about forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Dagenham is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Dagenham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

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

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dagenham can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Dagenham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Dagenham.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Dagenham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • A minority of Dagenham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend 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 requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £500000 apartment in Dagenham next week. The management company has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Dagenham?

    Dagenham conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be content to do so. They may charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries 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 is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

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

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Dagenham conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Dagenham residence is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 61.36 years.

    What are the common deficiencies that you see in leases for Dagenham properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Dagenham is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Virgin Money, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Dagenham