Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Southville:

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Questions and Answers: Southville leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Southville. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Southville - 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 am hoping to complete next month on a garden flat in Southville. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • 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 rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Southville please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Southville

    • I am looking at a couple of apartments in Southville which have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

    There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Southville is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 premises 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 property 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 Southville conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend 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.

    I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Southville where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Southville conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has owned the lease 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 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 at the same time as 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 buyer.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Southville with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Southville can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Southville levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Southville.
  • A minority of Southville leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord 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 nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I bought a studio flat in Southville, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Comparable flats in Southville with over 90 years remaining are worth £175,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 per annum. The lease ends on 21st October 2093

    With only 68 years unexpired the likely cost is going to range between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Southville