Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Sub Hamdon. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Stoke Sub Hamdon - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my lease in Stoke Sub Hamdon. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Stoke Sub Hamdon.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Stoke Sub Hamdon. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Sub Hamdon from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Sub Hamdon can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Stoke Sub Hamdon charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Sub Hamdon.

In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Stoke Sub Hamdon leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.

If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. 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 pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Stoke Sub Hamdon home move. Where a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £475000 garden flat in Stoke Sub Hamdon in 10 days. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stoke Sub Hamdon?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Stoke Sub Hamdon
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Stoke Sub Hamdon leasehold premises is £350. For Stoke Sub Hamdon conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to supply answers.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in Stoke Sub Hamdon, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Similar properties in Stoke Sub Hamdon with a long lease are worth £261,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2098

With just 73 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to range between £12,400 and £14,200 as well as legals.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Stoke Sub Hamdon