Quedgeley leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I only have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Quedgeley. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Quedgeley.
I work for a busy estate agent office in Quedgeley where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Quedgeley conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
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.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Quedgeley conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?
If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Quedgeley conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Quedgeley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:
- If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
We expect to complete the disposal of our £250000 apartment in Quedgeley in 5 days. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Quedgeley?
Quedgeley conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates fees being invoiced by freeholders :
- Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
- Where consent is required before sale in Quedgeley
- Copies of the building insurance and schedule
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley what are the most common lease defects?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
- Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
- 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
A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Britannia 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 does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.
Leasehold Conveyancing in Quedgeley - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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Who are the managing agents?
Where a Quedgeley lease has less than eighty years it will impact the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely need a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Quedgeleylease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the premises for a couple of years in order to be entitled to exercise a lease extension.
Plenty Quedgeley leasehold properties will have a service charge for maintenance of the block set by the landlord. If you buy the flat you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically during the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common grounds. In all probability there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, this is usually not a significant figure, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to enquire it because sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds.
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