Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Manningtree

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Manningtree conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Manningtree leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Manningtree - 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.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Manningtree. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Manningtree who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Manningtree conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two apartments in Manningtree which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Manningtree is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty 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 property 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 Manningtree 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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 Manningtree from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Manningtree levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. 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 common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Manningtree.
  • Some Manningtree leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete our sale of a £500000 garden flat in Manningtree in just under a week. The management company has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Manningtree?

    Manningtree conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address such questions most will be content to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

    I inherited a split level flat in Manningtree, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1998. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable properties in Manningtree with over 90 years remaining are worth £262,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease terminates on 21st October 2082

    You have 57 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as costs.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Manningtree