Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Thurrock

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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Thurrock

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Thurrock. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Thurrock - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

There are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Thurrock. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Thurrock.

I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Thurrock. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Thurrock are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Thurrock so you should seriously consider looking for a Thurrock conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Thurrock. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Thurrock with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Thurrock can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers conveyancers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Thurrock state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some Thurrock leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice 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 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 lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers 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.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Thurrock Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

      If a Thurrock lease has no more than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to lend given the lease term. A short lease means that you will almost definitely have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this will be. For most Thurrocklease extensions you will be required to have been the owner of the premises for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease. The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the lessees benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves. On the whole the cost for major works are not wrapped into the maintenance charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Thurrock ask tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger works.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Thurrock