Recently asked questions relating to Sale leasehold conveyancing
There are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Sale. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?
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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Sale.
Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Sale. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sale should include some of the following:
- Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Sale.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Sale conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sale conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Sale conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:
- What volume of lease extensions have they carried out in Sale in the last twenty four months?
We expect to complete our sale of a £125000 maisonette in Sale in seven days. The managing agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Sale?
Sale conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.
I own a 1st floor flat in Sale, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Sale with a long lease are worth £167,000. The ground rent is £60 yearly. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2093
With only 72 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.
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