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 chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest be sure to find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Sample questions relating to Manor House leasehold conveyancing

I am intending to sublet my leasehold apartment in Manor House. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; in particular, it will say if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Manor House do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the property. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

There are only 62 years remaining on my flat in Manor House. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Manor House.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Manor House.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Manor House with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Manor House can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Manor House levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. 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 accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Manor House.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Manor House leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • A minority of Manor House leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

    • Completion in due on the sale of our £275000 apartment in Manor House next Friday . The freeholder has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Manor House?

    Manor House conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I own a basement flat in Manor House. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for the purchase of the freehold?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Manor House conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Manor House flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71 years.