Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Southborough

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Common questions relating to Southborough leasehold conveyancing

I only have Fifty years left on my lease in Southborough. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Southborough.

I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Southborough.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Southborough. Conveyancing and Yorkshire Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Southborough who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Southborough conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Southborough with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Southborough can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Southborough levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Southborough.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Southborough conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete the sale of our £150000 maisonette in Southborough on Monday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Southborough?

    Southborough conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually involves the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. 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 invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Southborough. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Southborough conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Southborough residence 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 50.57 years.