Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Small Heath leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Small Heath - 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.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Small Heath. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Small Heath please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Small Heath

    • I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Small Heath.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    I am employed by a busy estate agency in Small Heath where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Small Heath conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is 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 Small Heath from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Small Heath state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the approvals in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • A minority of Small Heath leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Small Heath Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

      The majority of Small Heath leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Should you acquire the property you will have to meet this liability, usually in instalments during the year. This can vary from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a rentcharge to be met annual, this is usually not a large figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as occasionally it could be surprisingly expensive. For most Small Heath leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Small Heath obliged leaseholders to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against major repairs or maintenance. The answer will be useful as a) areas could result in problems in the block as the communal areas may start to deteriorate if repairs are not paid for b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will need to know about it

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Small Heath