Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in New Romney

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Leasehold conveyancing in New Romney is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in New Romney and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

New Romney leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I own a leasehold flat in New Romney. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in New Romney who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a New Romney conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am looking at a two maisonettes in New Romney both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in New Romney. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in New Romney where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local New Romney conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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. 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 has to be done before, 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a New Romney conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a New Romney conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non New Romney conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

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

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in New Romney from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in New Romney can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in New Romney state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • A minority of New Romney 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 financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a New Romney conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • 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 purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in New Romney, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent properties in New Romney with an extended lease are worth £167,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2077

    You have 52 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in New Romney