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

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Sample questions relating to Milnthorpe leasehold conveyancing

I only have Seventy years left on my flat in Milnthorpe. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder 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 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Milnthorpe.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in Milnthorpe which have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Milnthorpe. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Milnthorpe. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Milnthorpe where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Milnthorpe conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-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.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Milnthorpe with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Milnthorpe 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 information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Milnthorpe levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Milnthorpe.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Milnthorpe leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • Some Milnthorpe leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.

    • I am the registered owner of a 1st floor flat in Milnthorpe, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Milnthorpe with an extended lease are worth £244,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2088

    With 66 years remaining on your lease we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £16,200 and £18,600 plus costs.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Milnthorpe