Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Stilton

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Leasehold conveyancing in Stilton is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Stilton and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Common questions relating to Stilton leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Stilton. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Stilton should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Stilton please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Stilton

    • I own a leasehold flat in Stilton. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Stilton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

    First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Stilton conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am attracted to a two flats in Stilton which have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

    A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant 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

    I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Stilton where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Stilton conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done 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 buyer.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stilton with the intention of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stilton can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Stilton levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stilton.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Stilton conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Stilton - A selection of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

      Who are the managing agents? The answer will be important as a) areas may cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leasehold owners have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it Is the freehold owned jointly by the tenants?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Stilton