Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Newquay:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Newquay, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Newquay leasehold conveyancing

I only have 62 years unexpired on my flat in Newquay. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Newquay.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Newquay. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Newquay ?

Most houses in Newquay are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Newquay in which case you should be shopping around for a Newquay conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Newquay where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Newquay conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 buyer 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 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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Newquay from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Newquay can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Newquay leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some Newquay 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. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Newquay home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Newquay what are the most common lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Newquay. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Virgin Money, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

    I purchased a split level flat in Newquay, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Corresponding properties in Newquay with over 90 years remaining are worth £199,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2080

    With just 57 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £25,700 and £29,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Newquay