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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Sawtry, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Sawtry leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Sawtry. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sawtry should include some of the following:

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • You should 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
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Sawtry please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Sawtry

    • I own a leasehold house in Sawtry. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Sawtry who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

    The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Sawtry conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I am employed by a long established estate agency in Sawtry where we have experienced a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Sawtry conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    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 buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

    An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.

    What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Sawtry conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sawtry conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Sawtry 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:

    • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

    • What makes a Sawtry lease unmortgageable?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Sawtry. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and Aldermore all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    I own a 1 bedroom flat in Sawtry, conveyancing was carried out 2004. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Sawtry with an extended lease are worth £228,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2083

    With just 59 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £24,700 and £28,600 plus legals.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Sawtry