Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Pratt's Bottom conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Questions and Answers: Pratt's Bottom leasehold conveyancing

I only have 68 years left on my lease in Pratt's Bottom. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Pratt's Bottom.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Pratt's Bottom. Conveyancing lawyers assured 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 Pratt's Bottom should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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 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 a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Pratt's Bottom please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom

    • I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Pratt's Bottom where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Pratt's Bottom conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the owner 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Pratt's Bottom charge 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 as soon as you have 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 common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Pratt's Bottom leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Pratt's Bottom leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Pratt's Bottom home move. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Pratt's Bottom conveyancing firm to represent me?

    in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Pratt's Bottom premises 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 50.57 years.

    Are there frequently found defects that you witness in leases for Pratt's Bottom properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Pratt's Bottom is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Leeds Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

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    Lease Extensions in Pratt's Bottom