Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Norris Green:

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Norris Green, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Norris Green leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Norris Green. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Norris Green - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

My wife and I may need to let out our Norris Green basement flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Norris Green conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Norris Green conveyancing lawyer is not around you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek consent via your landlord or some other party before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Norris Green where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Norris Green conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Norris Green from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Norris Green can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Norris Green charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Norris Green.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Norris Green state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • Some Norris Green leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 solicitors.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Norris Green home move. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £225000 apartment in Norris Green next week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Norris Green?

    Norris Green conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I purchased a 2 bed flat in Norris Green, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Similar properties in Norris Green with a long lease are worth £173,000. The ground rent is £65 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2098

    You have 73 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Norris Green