I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Queenborough which have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Queenborough. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Queenborough where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Queenborough conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with 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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Queenborough conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Queenborough conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Queenborough conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

• Can they put you in touch with client in Queenborough who can give a testimonial?

What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Queenborough with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Queenborough can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Queenborough charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Queenborough.

A minority of Queenborough leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents 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 able to meet 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 ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Queenborough conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

We expect to complete the sale of our £475000 flat in Queenborough next Tuesday . The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Queenborough?

Queenborough conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes nine out of ten times results in administration charges levied by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-contract enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Queenborough
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Queenborough leasehold premises is £350. For Queenborough conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Queenborough - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

Its a good idea to find out as much as possible about the company managing the building as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. As the owner of a leasehold property you are frequently at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to practical issues such as the upkeep of the common parts. Enquire of other tenants what they think of their management. Finally, be sure you discover the dates that you are obliged pay the service charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending that money. How is the lease structured? What is the the remaining lease term?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Queenborough