Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Ravensthorpe:

Get a Quote

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

Ravensthorpe leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Ravensthorpe. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Ravensthorpe - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I am looking at a couple of flats in Ravensthorpe both have in the region of forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Ravensthorpe is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Ravensthorpe conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agency in Ravensthorpe where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Ravensthorpe conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 simultaneously with 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 buyer.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Ravensthorpe from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ravensthorpe can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Ravensthorpe charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. 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 obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Ravensthorpe.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Ravensthorpe state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Ravensthorpe leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

    • We expect to complete our sale of a £425000 garden flat in Ravensthorpe in 8 days. The managing agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Ravensthorpe?

    Ravensthorpe conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes often involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to assist. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Ravensthorpe - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      Its a good idea to find out as much as you can regarding the company managing the block as they can either make your life much easier or uncomfortable. Being a leasehold owner you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters such as the tidiness of the common parts. Enquire of other people what they think of them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the appropriate party and precisely what you get for your money. Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? Many Ravensthorpe leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block set by the freeholder. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically throughout the year. This could vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a significant amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Ravensthorpe