Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Brook End:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Brook End, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley be sure to find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Sample questions relating to Shenley Brook End leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my flat in Shenley Brook End. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission 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. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Shenley Brook End.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Shenley Brook End where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Shenley Brook End conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 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 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 Shenley Brook End with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Brook End can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Shenley Brook End charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information 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 usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Brook End.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Shenley Brook End leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete our sale of a £175000 garden flat in Shenley Brook End in just under a week. The freeholder has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Shenley Brook End?

    Shenley Brook End conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates the buyer’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to these enquiries most will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    What are the common deficiencies that you witness in leases for Shenley Brook End properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Brook End. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Leeds Building Society, and TSB all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    I own a 1st floor flat in Shenley Brook End, conveyancing formalities finalised in 2006. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Shenley Brook End with a long lease are worth £267,000. The ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ends on 21st October 2091

    With just 66 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £15,200 and £17,600 as well as costs.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Shenley Brook End