Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Stanford Le Hope

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Stanford Le Hope, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Common questions relating to Stanford Le Hope leasehold conveyancing

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to sub-let our Stanford Le Hope ground floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Stanford Le Hope conveyancing firm in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Stanford Le Hope conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed flat in Stanford Le Hope.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is pay 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 management companies 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.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Stanford Le Hope. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Stanford Le Hope from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stanford Le Hope can be avoided where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Stanford Le Hope levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. 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 receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stanford Le Hope.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Stanford Le Hope leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes 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 warry about purchasing a flat 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 ahead of 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 over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Stanford Le Hope home move. If a reissued share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • What makes a Stanford Le Hope lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Stanford Le Hope is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    I bought a basement flat in Stanford Le Hope, conveyancing was carried out 9 years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Stanford Le Hope with over 90 years remaining are worth £198,000. The ground rent is £55 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2084

    With only 59 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £25,700 and £29,600 plus costs.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Stanford Le Hope