Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Tickhill:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Tickhill, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, RBS or NatWest be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Tickhill conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Tickhill leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Tickhill. Before diving in I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Tickhill - 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.

I am attracted to a two flats in Tickhill which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Tickhill is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Tickhill conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Tickhill. 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 owner 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).

I work for a long established estate agent office in Tickhill where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Tickhill conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as 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 buyer.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Tickhill with the intention of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tickhill can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Tickhill levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tickhill.
  • A minority of Tickhill leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Tickhill home move. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Tickhill Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other major work is due shortly that will be shared between the tenants and will materially impact the level of the maintenance fees or result in a one off invoice. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Does the lease include onerous restrictions?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tickhill