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

Get a Quote

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

Sample questions relating to Sherborne leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Sherborne. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Sherborne - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Sherborne. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Sherborne.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Sherborne. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or working from home
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises 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 contained in your report on your leasehold property in Sherborne please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Sherborne

    • I own a leasehold flat in Sherborne. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Sherborne who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

    First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Sherborne conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sherborne from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sherborne can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Sherborne levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sherborne.
  • A minority of Sherborne leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Sherborne conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Sherborne Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

      Does the lease contain onerous restrictions? Be sure to discover if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example it is fairly common in Sherborne leases that pets are not permitted in certain buildings in Sherborne. If you like the flatin Sherborne but your cat is not allowed to live with you then you have a very hard choice. Does the lease have in excess of 82 years left?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Sherborne