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Sandwich leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Sandwich. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Sandwich - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Sandwich. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Sandwich please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Sandwich

    • I've recently bought a leasehold property in Sandwich. Do I have any liability for 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. 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 be sure 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 employed by a busy estate agent office in Sandwich where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Sandwich conveyancing firms. 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    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 purchaser.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Sandwich with the intention of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sandwich can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Sandwich levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought 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 usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sandwich.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Sandwich leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Sandwich leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

    • Sandwich Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      The answer will be important as a) areas can cause problems in the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it How many years are left on the lease? You should be aware that where the lease has fewer than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely need a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. For most Sandwichlease extensions you would need to own the property for 24 months before you are eligible to extend the lease.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Sandwich