Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea:

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St Leonards On Sea leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in St Leonards On Sea - 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in St Leonards On Sea.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is 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 unless 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in St Leonards On Sea levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in St Leonards On Sea state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage 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.

    • We expect to complete our sale of a £425000 flat in St Leonards On Sea next Wednesday . The freeholder has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in St Leonards On Sea?

    St Leonards On Sea conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea what are the most common lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in St Leonards On Sea. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    St Leonards On Sea Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries before Purchasing

      Are any of leasehold owners in arrears of their service charge payments? The majority of St Leonards On Sea leasehold apartments will incur a service bill for maintenance of the block levied by the freeholder. Should you buy the apartment you will have to meet this liability, usually in instalments throughout the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large communal areas. In all likelihood there will be a ground rent for you to pay annual, normally this is not a exorbitant amount, say about £50-£100 but you should to enquire it because on occasion it can be prohibitively expensive. For many St Leonards On Sea leaseholds the cost for major works tend not to be built into the service charges, although a few managing agents in St Leonards On Sea obliged leaseholders to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger works.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in St Leonards On Sea