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

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Preston, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Preston

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Preston. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Preston - 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Preston. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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).

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Preston conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Preston conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Preston conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Preston in the last twenty four months?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Preston who can give a testimonial?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Preston with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Preston can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Preston charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to 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 average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Preston.
  • Some Preston 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 put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • 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 is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Preston home move. If a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • After years of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Preston. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Preston residence is Ground Floor Flat 79 London Road in September 2012. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension should be £7,636 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 74 years.

    What are the frequently found defects that you witness in leases for Preston properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Preston is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Coventry Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements 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, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Preston