Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Shard End:

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Top Five Questions relating to Shard End leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Shard End. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Shard End - 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.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Shard End.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear the service charge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

I work for a reputable estate agency in Shard End where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Shard End conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Shard End conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Shard End conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Shard End conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shard End from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shard End can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Shard End levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shard End.
  • Some Shard End leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Shard End conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • I purchased a split level flat in Shard End, conveyancing formalities finalised 8 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Shard End with an extended lease are worth £225,000. The ground rent is £60 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2082

    You have 58 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £24,700 and £28,600 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Shard End