Patcham leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
There are only 72 years unexpired on my lease in Patcham. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?
On the basis that 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 used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Patcham.
I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Patcham.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is discharge the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Patcham. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Patcham ?
The majority of houses in Patcham are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Patcham so you should seriously consider looking for a Patcham conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.
I am looking at a couple of flats in Patcham both have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Patcham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Patcham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Completion in due on the sale of our £200000 flat in Patcham on Tuesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Patcham?
For most leasehold sales in Patcham conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
- Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
- Where consent is required before sale in Patcham
- Copies of the building insurance and schedule
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Leasehold Conveyancing in Patcham - Examples of Queries before Purchasing
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In the main the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, although some managing agents in Patcham ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.
If a Patcham lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the flat. Check with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering how much this will be. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for two years before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension.
The answer will be useful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it
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