Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Queenborough:

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Queenborough, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Queenborough conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Queenborough leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in Queenborough. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Queenborough.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Queenborough.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Queenborough. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Queenborough where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Queenborough conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 kick-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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Queenborough from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Queenborough can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Queenborough charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to 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 frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Queenborough.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Queenborough leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Queenborough home move. Where a new share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I am the registered owner of a studio flat in Queenborough, conveyancing formalities finalised 2005. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in Queenborough with an extended lease are worth £200,000. The ground rent is £45 per annum. The lease runs out on 21st October 2095

    With 70 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Queenborough