Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Tickton

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Tickton, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, RBS or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Tickton leasehold conveyancing

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Tickton. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Tickton who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Tickton conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Tickton. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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. 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 ensure 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 busy estate agency in Tickton where we see a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Tickton conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Tickton with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tickton can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Tickton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Tickton.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Tickton state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Tickton home move. Where a new share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • What makes a Tickton lease problematic?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Tickton is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Leeds Building Society, and Aldermore all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    Tickton Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before buying

      The answer will be important as a) areas can cause problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to know about it Does the lease have onerous restrictions? How long is the Lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tickton