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Leasehold conveyancing in Oakdale 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 Oakdale and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Common questions relating to Oakdale leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Oakdale. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Oakdale.

Looking forward to complete next month on a studio apartment in Oakdale. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Oakdale should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Oakdale please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Oakdale

    • Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Oakdale. 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. A critical element 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).

    What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Oakdale conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Oakdale conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Oakdale conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

    • What volume of lease extensions has the firm completed in Oakdale in the last year?
  • What are the costs for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Oakdale from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Oakdale can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Oakdale charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Oakdale.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Oakdale state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • Some Oakdale 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 bank and professional references. Any 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Oakdale Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

      Most Oakdale leasehold flats will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. Should you acquire the apartment you will have to pay this charge, usually quarterly during the year. This may be anything from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal grounds. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say around £50-£100 but you should to check it because sometimes it could be prohibitively expensive. You should want to discover as much as you can concerning the company managing the block as they will either make living at the property much easier or problematic. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to daily matters such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants what they think of them. Finally, be sure you discover the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the appropriate party and specifically what you get for your money. The best form of lease structure is where the freehold title is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is usually employed if it is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Oakdale