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

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

Manor House leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Manor House. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Manor House - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Manor House. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Manor House.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Manor House. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Manor House ?

Most houses in Manor House are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Manor House so you should seriously consider looking for a Manor House conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Manor House where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Manor House conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Manor House with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Manor House can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Manor House levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. 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 usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Manor House.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Manor House conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible 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.

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

    Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Manor House residence is 51 Lorne Road in November 2009. The price Payable as decided by the tribunal for the freehold reversion was £27,000. The valuation follows the order of the County Court made on 3 April 2008 granting a vesting order. This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 71 years.