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Top Five Questions relating to Silsworth leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Silsworth. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Silsworth - 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 68 years remaining on my flat in Silsworth. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Silsworth.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Silsworth. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. Strange as it may seem, 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 ensure 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 work for a busy estate agent office in Silsworth where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Silsworth conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Silsworth from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Silsworth can be avoided where 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 lawyers.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Silsworth levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. 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 accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Silsworth.
  • Some Silsworth leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents 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 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Silsworth home move. Where a new share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I inherited a 1st floor flat in Silsworth, conveyancing was carried out 10 years ago. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Corresponding flats in Silsworth with a long lease are worth £167,000. The ground rent is £65 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2079

    With just 54 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £29,500 and £34,000 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Silsworth