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

Get a Quote

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

Loughton leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Loughton. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Loughton - 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.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Loughton. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but might include a loft or basement if applicable.
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Loughton please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Loughton

    • I am looking at a couple of flats in Loughton both have about 50 years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

    A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Loughton from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Loughton can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Loughton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Loughton.
  • Some Loughton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Loughton conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Having spent months of correspondence we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Loughton. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the price.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Loughton premises is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 69.26 years.

    What makes a Loughton lease defective?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Loughton is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society 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 is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Loughton