Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Shirehampton

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

Questions and Answers: Shirehampton leasehold conveyancing

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Shirehampton.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Shirehampton which have about forty five years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in Shirehampton. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Shirehampton where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Shirehampton conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Shirehampton from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shirehampton can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Shirehampton levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack 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 common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Shirehampton.
  • Some Shirehampton 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 bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. 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 pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Shirehampton home move. If a new share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • What makes a Shirehampton lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Shirehampton is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements 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 issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Skipton Building Society, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Shirehampton - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

      What is the the remaining lease term? What is the yearly service fee and ground rent? Many Shirehampton leasehold apartments will incur a service charge for maintenance of the building set on behalf of the freeholder. Should you purchase the apartment you will have to meet this amount, usually periodically throughout the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay annual, ordinarily this is not a significant sum, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire as on occasion it could be many hundreds of pounds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Shirehampton