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

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Sands End, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Sands End leasehold conveyancing

Looking forward to complete next month on a basement flat in Sands End. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sands End should include some of the following:

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • 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 details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Sands End please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Sands End

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Sands End. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Sands End who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

    The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Sands End conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I am employed by a busy estate agency in Sands End where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Sands End conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has been the owner 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 wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sands End from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sands End can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Sands End levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sands End.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Sands End state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • A minority of Sands End leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Sands End conveyancing firm to represent me?

    if there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the premium.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Sands End property is 29 Sisters Avenue in April 2013. The Tribunal camme to the conclusion that the entire freehold should be transferred by the landlord to the nominee purchaser. The price to be paid was the sum of £53,527. This had been arrived at by applying a deferment rate of 5.25% to the freehold reversion and relativity of 95.4% to the leasehold values. This case was in relation to 4 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 85.78 years.

    What makes a Sands End lease unmortgageable?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Sands End is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.