Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Romney:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Romney, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, RBS or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Romney conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Romney leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my flat in Romney. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Romney.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Romney. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Romney should include some of the following:

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.For instance, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Romney please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Romney

    • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Romney.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

    It best that you 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 management companies 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Romney. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element 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 Romney from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Romney can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • Some Romney leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Romney home move. If a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage 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.

    • Romney Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      What is the length of the lease? The majority of Romney leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced on behalf of the landlord. Should you purchase the property you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically throughout the year. This could be anything from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large common areas. In all likelihood there will be a rentcharge for you to pay yearly, ordinarily this is not a large figure, say about £25-£75 but you need to check as on occasion it can be many hundreds of pounds. Is the freehold reversion owned jointly by the leaseholders?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Romney