Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree:

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

Manningtree leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

My fiance and I may need to rent out our Manningtree garden flat temporarily due to taking a sabbatical. We used a Manningtree conveyancing firm in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

The lease dictates relations between the landlord and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will indicate if subletting is banned, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Manningtree do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the sublease.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Manningtree. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. 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 apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Manningtree.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Manningtree where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Manningtree conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Manningtree charge 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 as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Manningtree home move. If a reissued share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £175000 garden flat in Manningtree next week. The management company has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Manningtree?

    Manningtree conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Manningtree - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is often employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants. Where a Manningtree lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. For most Manningtreelease extensions you would need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are entitled to exercise a lease extension. You will want to find out as much as possible concerning the managing agents as they will either make living at the property much simpler or problematic. Being a leasehold owner you are often in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues like the cleanliness of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask prospective neighbours what they think of them. Finally, investigate as to the dates that the service charges are due to the relevant party and precisely what you get for your money.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Manningtree