Questions and Answers: St Ives leasehold conveyancing
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in St Ives. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in St Ives - 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 2 bed flat in St Ives.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?
It best that you clear 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in St Ives both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?
There are plenty of short leases in St Ives. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area
Last month I purchased a leasehold house in St Ives. 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 owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, 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 be sure 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 St Ives where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local St Ives conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, 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.
I inherited a ground floor flat in St Ives, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable flats in St Ives with over 90 years remaining are worth £237,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease finishes on 21st October 2078
With only 54 years left to run the likely cost is going to range between £27,600 and £31,800 as well as legals.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should 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