Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Taplow

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Taplow, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Common questions relating to Taplow leasehold conveyancing

I only have Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Taplow. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Taplow.

I have just started marketing my garden flat in Taplow.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you clear the invoice 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 until 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Taplow. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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. 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Taplow conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Taplow conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Taplow conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Taplow who can give a testimonial?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Taplow with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Taplow can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Taplow leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Taplow 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 put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Taplow home move. If a duplicate share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I am the registered owner of a basement flat in Taplow, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Taplow with over 90 years remaining are worth £245,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease terminates on 21st October 2094

    With only 74 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £10,500 and £12,000 as well as legals.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to supply a more accurate figure without more detailed investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Taplow