Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Pangbourne:

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Pangbourne leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Pangbourne. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Pangbourne - 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Pangbourne. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. It is an essential part 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Pangbourne with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Pangbourne can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Pangbourne state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Pangbourne home move. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if 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 by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore 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.

    • Completion in due on our sale of a £500000 garden flat in Pangbourne in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Pangbourne?

    Pangbourne conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Pangbourne what are the most common lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Pangbourne is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • 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

    You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    I purchased a 1st floor flat in Pangbourne, conveyancing having been completed 4 years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Pangbourne with over 90 years remaining are worth £234,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease runs out on 21st October 2081

    You have 56 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Pangbourne