Leasehold Conveyancing in Quedgeley - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Frequently asked questions relating to Quedgeley leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Quedgeley - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Quedgeley. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Quedgeley.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Quedgeley where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Quedgeley conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer 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 needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Quedgeley levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley.
  • Some Quedgeley leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Quedgeley conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley what are the most common lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Quedgeley is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, The Mortgage Works, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

    I bought a ground floor flat in Quedgeley, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Quedgeley with an extended lease are worth £173,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease ceases on 21st October 2086

    With just 61 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £20,900 and £24,200 plus professional fees.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Quedgeley