Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Northumberland Heath:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Northumberland Heath, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Sample questions relating to Northumberland Heath leasehold conveyancing

I only have 62 years left on my lease in Northumberland Heath. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Northumberland Heath.

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Northumberland Heath. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but could also include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
  • Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the building.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide. For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Northumberland Heath please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Northumberland Heath

    • I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Northumberland Heath both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

    I've recently bought a leasehold property in Northumberland Heath. 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 lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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).

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Northumberland Heath from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Northumberland Heath can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Northumberland Heath levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Northumberland Heath.
  • Some Northumberland Heath leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Northumberland Heath conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Having spent months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Northumberland Heath. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to decide the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Northumberland Heath flat 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 was in relation to 13 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.