Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Portland:

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Recently asked questions relating to Portland leasehold conveyancing

Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Portland. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Portland should include some of the following:

  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Portland please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Portland

    • I am attracted to a two flats in Portland both have about 50 years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Portland is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 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 property 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 premises 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 Portland conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

    I am employed by a busy estate agency in Portland where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Portland conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Portland with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Portland can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Portland charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack 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 cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Portland.
  • Some Portland leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Portland conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Portland what are the most frequent lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Portland is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Portland - Examples of Queries before buying

      Is there a share of the freehold? You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Portlandlease extensions you will be be obliged to have owned the premises for a couple of years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension. The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this situation the leaseholders benefit from being in charge if their destiny and although a managing agent is usually employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Portland