Leasehold Conveyancing in Southend On Sea - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Leasehold conveyancing in Southend On Sea 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 Southend On Sea and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Top Five Questions relating to Southend On Sea leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Southend On Sea. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Southend On Sea - 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.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Southend On Sea.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Southend On Sea. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing solicitor in Southend On Sea who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Southend On Sea conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Southend On Sea with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Southend On Sea can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Southend On Sea levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Southend On Sea.
  • Some Southend On Sea 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 obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Southend On Sea conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Southend On Sea what are the most common lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Southend On Sea is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. HSBC Bank, Virgin Money, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    I invested in buying a 2 bed flat in Southend On Sea, conveyancing was carried out 1999. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding properties in Southend On Sea with an extended lease are worth £245,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2099

    With 77 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £13,300 and £15,400 as well as costs.

    The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Southend On Sea