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

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Leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Small Heath leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Small Heath - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 exchange soon on a garden flat in Small Heath. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. 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 receive a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • 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 details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Small Heath please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Small Heath

    • I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Small Heath.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?

    It best that you pay the service charge 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 looking at a two flats in Small Heath which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Small Heath is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Small Heath conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Small Heath charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath.
  • Some 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 financial (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 solicitors.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Small Heath home move. Where a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

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

      Plenty Small Heath leasehold apartments will be liable to pay a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied by the freeholder. Should you purchase the property you will have to meet this charge, normally periodically during the year. This can be anything from a couple of hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent to be met annual, ordinarily this is not a large sum, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as on occasion it can be surprisingly expensive. What is the service charge and ground rent on the property? Please note that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the apartment. Check with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this will be. Remember, in most cases you will be be obliged to have owned the premises for 24 months before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Small Heath