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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Matlock, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Matlock leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my flat in Matlock. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Matlock.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Matlock. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Matlock should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but could also incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the block.For instance, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Matlock please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Matlock

    • I work for a long established estate agency in Matlock where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Matlock conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    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 choosing a Matlock conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Matlock conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Matlock conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

    • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What are the costs for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Matlock with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Matlock can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Matlock charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Matlock.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Matlock conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Matlock Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      Is there a share of the freehold? Does the lease include onerous restrictions? Does the lease have more than 90 years left?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Matlock