Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in St Margarets

Need to find a solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in St Margarets on your lender’s panel? Use our search tool to find leading local St Margarets conveyancing lawyers or national solicitors on your lender’s panel .

Recently asked questions relating to St Margarets leasehold conveyancing

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

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in St Margarets - 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.

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my flat in St Margarets. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If 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 granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing St Margarets.

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in St Margarets. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The total extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • 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.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in St Margarets please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in St Margarets

  • I've recently bought a leasehold flat in St Margarets. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. Strange as it may seem, 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 ensure 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).

    Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £200000 apartment in St Margarets in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in St Margarets?

    St Margarets conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in St Margarets. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a St Margarets conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St Margarets flat is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 60.45 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in St Margarets