I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Longhope. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Longhope ?

Most houses in Longhope are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Longhope so you should seriously consider looking for a Longhope conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Longhope which have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Longhope is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Longhope conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Longhope with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Longhope can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority landlords or managing agents in Longhope charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Longhope.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Longhope leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. If you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.

A minority of Longhope leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their lawyers.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £275000 garden flat in Longhope on Wednesday in a week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Longhope?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Longhope conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Longhope
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Longhope leasehold property is £350. For Longhope conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply the information.

Are there frequently found defects that you come across in leases for Longhope properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Longhope. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• Insurance obligations
• 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

You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, Coventry Building Society, and TSB all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

I purchased a split level flat in Longhope, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Similar flats in Longhope with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2078

With only 54 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £33,300 and £38,400 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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Lease Extensions in Longhope