Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Seaford

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Seaford, 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: Seaford leasehold conveyancing

There are only Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Seaford. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Seaford.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Seaford. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Seaford are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Seaford in which case you should be looking for a Seaford conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Seaford which have approximately forty five years unexpired on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Seaford is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Seaford conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Seaford. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. A critical element 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Seaford from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Seaford can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • Some Seaford 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 bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Seaford conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Seaford Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

      The answer will be helpful as a) areas may cause problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will want to know about it How much is the annual maintenance fee and ground rent? The best form of lease structure is if the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Seaford