Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Maidenhead

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Maidenhead, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Sample questions relating to Maidenhead leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in Maidenhead. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Maidenhead.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Maidenhead. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Maidenhead ?

The majority of houses in Maidenhead are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Maidenhead so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Maidenhead conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Maidenhead both have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Maidenhead. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Maidenhead with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Maidenhead can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Maidenhead leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • Some Maidenhead leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Maidenhead what are the most common lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Maidenhead. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Barnsley Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Maidenhead Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

      Be sure to discover if the the lease includes any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is reasonably common in Maidenhead leases that pets are not allowed in certain buildings in Maidenhead. If you love the flatin Maidenhead however your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult choice. The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually retained where it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. Best to be warned whether redecorating or some other significant cost is due shortly that will be shared between the tenants and may well dramatically impact the level of the service charges or necessitate a one time invoice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Maidenhead