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Common questions relating to Sunningdale leasehold conveyancing

Due to exchange soon on a basement flat in Sunningdale. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sunningdale should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Sunningdale please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Sunningdale

    • I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Sunningdale. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Sunningdale ?

    The majority of houses in Sunningdale 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. We note that you are purchasing in Sunningdale so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Sunningdale conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

    I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Sunningdale where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Sunningdale conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

    What are your top tips when it comes to appointing a Sunningdale conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

    When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Sunningdale conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Sunningdale conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

    • How many lease extensions has the firm completed in Sunningdale in the last year?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Sunningdale who can give a testimonial?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Sunningdale from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Sunningdale can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Sunningdale charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for 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 usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sunningdale.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Sunningdale state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Sunningdale home move. If a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Sunningdale - Examples of Queries before buying

      Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will affect the marketability of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with remaining years on the lease. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth finding out how much this will be. For most Sunningdalelease extensions you will be required to have been the owner of the premises for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease. Best to be warned if window replacement or some other significant cost is anticipated to be shared between the tenants and could well materially increase the the service costs or necessitate a one off payment. The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is owned by the leaseholders. In this scenario the tenants benefit from control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Sunningdale