Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Lower Sunbury

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Lower Sunbury, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, RBS or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Lower Sunbury leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I own a leasehold house in Lower Sunbury. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Lower Sunbury who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Lower Sunbury conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Lower Sunbury where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Lower Sunbury conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Lower Sunbury conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Lower Sunbury conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Lower Sunbury conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Lower Sunbury who can give a testimonial?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lower Sunbury from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lower Sunbury can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Lower Sunbury 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 on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lower Sunbury.
  • Some Lower Sunbury leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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. The 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Lower Sunbury conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company officers 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 it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • All being well we will complete the sale of our £450000 flat in Lower Sunbury next week. The management company has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Lower Sunbury?

    Lower Sunbury conveyancing on leasehold flats usually involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

    We have reached the end of our tether in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Lower Sunbury. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Lower Sunbury conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Lower Sunbury residence is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 82.93 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Lower Sunbury