Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Rayleigh

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Rayleigh, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Rayleigh

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Rayleigh. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Rayleigh - 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Rayleigh.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in Rayleigh. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Rayleigh who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Rayleigh conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Rayleigh. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. However, 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Rayleigh from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rayleigh can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Some Rayleigh leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Rayleigh home move. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Rayleigh Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      This question is important as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have all the details How is the lease structured? The prefered form of lease structure is if the freehold interest is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees enjoy being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently employed where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Rayleigh