Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Shepshed

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Shepshed, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Shepshed

There are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Shepshed. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Shepshed.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in Shepshed.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you clear 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Shepshed. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Shepshed conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Shepshed conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Shepshed conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

  • What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Shepshed in the last twenty four months?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Shepshed who can give a testimonial?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Shepshed with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shepshed can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Shepshed charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shepshed.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Shepshed state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Shepshed leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

    • Shepshed Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Queries before buying

      Who are the managing agents? Is there a share of the freehold? What prohibitions are contained in the Shepshed Lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Shepshed