New Milton leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in New Milton. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in New Milton - 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.
Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in New Milton. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in New Milton should include some of the following:
- Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in New Milton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I am attracted to a two maisonettes in New Milton which have about fifty years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in New Milton is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 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 premises 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 a residence 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 New Milton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new 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.
I work for a busy estate agency in New Milton where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local New Milton conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.
I purchased a 1st floor flat in New Milton, conveyancing having been completed 1999. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar flats in New Milton with over 90 years remaining are worth £239,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2076
With 51 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £38,000 and £44,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
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