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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Potton, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or NatWest make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Potton conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Potton leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Potton. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Potton - 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Potton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you pay the service charge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I work for a busy estate agency in Potton where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Potton conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Potton conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Potton conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Potton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • How many lease extensions has the firm carried out in Potton in the last 12 months?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Potton who can give a testimonial?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Potton with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Potton can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Potton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Potton.
  • A minority of Potton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride 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 historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Potton home move. If a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • I own a split level flat in Potton, conveyancing having been completed 10 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Potton with an extended lease are worth £221,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2100

    With 74 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £8,600 and £9,800 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 without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Potton