Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Swaffham:

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Questions and Answers: Swaffham leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years remaining on my lease in Swaffham. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Swaffham.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Swaffham. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Swaffham please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Swaffham

    • I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Swaffham. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    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. 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 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 offer any advice when it comes to finding a Swaffham conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Swaffham conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Swaffham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

    • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Swaffham with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Swaffham can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • A minority of Swaffham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned 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 resolve 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 buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Swaffham conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • 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 lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I acquired a split level flat in Swaffham, conveyancing formalities finalised 2007. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent flats in Swaffham with an extended lease are worth £214,000. The ground rent is £55 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2093

    With just 68 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £11,400 and £13,200 plus legals.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Swaffham