Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Shenley Church End

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Leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Church End is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Church End and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Church End

I only have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Shenley Church End. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Shenley Church End.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Shenley Church End.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you pay the invoice 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Shenley Church End. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. 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).

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in Shenley Church End where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Shenley Church End conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 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 to extend their lease. 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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Church End with the intention of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Church End can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Shenley Church End charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shenley Church End.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Shenley Church End leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Shenley Church End 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 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I acquired a 2 bed flat in Shenley Church End, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Shenley Church End with an extended lease are worth £199,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2087

    With 61 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £20,900 and £24,200 plus 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 advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Shenley Church End