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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Goddington, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide be sure to find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Goddington conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Goddington leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Goddington. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Goddington should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Goddington please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Goddington

    • I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Goddington.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is 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.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Goddington with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Goddington can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • Some Goddington leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential 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 the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Goddington conveyancing deal. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary 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 you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible 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.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £175000 garden flat in Goddington next week. The landlords agents has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Goddington?

    Goddington conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the purchaser’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs 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 entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

    After years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Goddington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Goddington flat is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 50.57 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Goddington what are the most common lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Goddington. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed 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 defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.