Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Bridge:

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Stamford Bridge leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I've found a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Stamford Bridge. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Stamford Bridge are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Stamford Bridge so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Stamford Bridge conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Stamford Bridge. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Stamford Bridge who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Stamford Bridge conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Stamford Bridge where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Stamford Bridge conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Bridge with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Bridge can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Stamford Bridge charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for 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 frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stamford Bridge.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Stamford Bridge leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Stamford Bridge conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Completion in due on the disposal of our £300000 garden flat in Stamford Bridge in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stamford Bridge?

    Stamford Bridge conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the buyer’s lawyer 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 levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Stamford Bridge - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      Best to be warned if changing the roof or some other major work is pending that will be shared by the leaseholders and could well dramatically impact the level of the service fees or result in a specific payment. Please tell me if there are any major works on the horizon that could add a premium to the service fees? What is the annual service fee and ground rent?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Stamford Bridge