Leasehold Conveyancing in Seaham - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Seaham, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Seaham leasehold conveyancing

Due to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Seaham. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • 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
  • The total extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • 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 For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Seaham please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Seaham

    • Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold flat in Seaham. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Seaham who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

    First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Seaham conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I've recently bought a leasehold property in Seaham. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

    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. 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Seaham where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Seaham conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is 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 Seaham from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Seaham can be reduced where you appoint 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 solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Seaham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Seaham.
  • A minority of Seaham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 lawyers.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Seaham conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Seaham Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

      The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the tenants enjoy being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. The answer will be useful as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate where repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it Where a Seaham lease has less than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. For most Seahamlease extensions you would need to own the premises for 24 months before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Seaham