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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Surrey Quays, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Surrey Quays conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Surrey Quays leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Surrey Quays. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Surrey Quays - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Surrey Quays. Conveyancing solicitors inform 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 Surrey Quays should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a roof space or basement if appropriate.
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • 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 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 details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Surrey Quays please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Surrey Quays

    • Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Surrey Quays. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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).

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Surrey Quays with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Surrey Quays can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Surrey Quays charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Surrey Quays.
  • A minority of Surrey Quays leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Surrey Quays. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

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

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Surrey Quays residence is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 101.61 years.

    Are there frequently found deficiencies that you witness in leases for Surrey Quays properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Surrey Quays. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements 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 primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Barnsley Building Society, and Barclays Direct all have express requirements 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 grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.