Leasehold Conveyancing in Standish - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Standish, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Standish leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my lease in Standish. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Standish.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Standish. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Standish are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Standish so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Standish conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Standish where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Standish conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Standish conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Standish conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Standish conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • How many lease extensions have they conducted in Standish in the last year?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Standish who can give a testimonial?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Standish with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Standish can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Standish charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Standish.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Standish leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • 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 marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Standish Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

      Please note that where the lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the apartment. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this would cost. For most Standishlease extensions you would need to own the premises for a couple of years before you are legally able to carry out a lease extension. How many years remain on the lease? On the whole the outlay for major works are not built into the maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Standish obliged leaseholders to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific intention of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Standish