Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Totterdown. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Totterdown - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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've found a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Totterdown. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Totterdown are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Totterdown so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Totterdown conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Totterdown where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Totterdown conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence 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 proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 Totterdown from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Totterdown can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• Many landlords or managing agents in Totterdown 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 on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Totterdown.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Totterdown state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage 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.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £400000 garden flat in Totterdown on Wednesday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Totterdown?

Totterdown conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically involves administration charges raised by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Totterdown
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your conveyancer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Totterdown leasehold property is £350. For Totterdown conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to supply the information.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Totterdown - A selection of Queries Prior to Purchasing

The answer will be helpful as a) areas could result in problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where services are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have full disclosure What restrictions exist in the Totterdown Lease? What is the yearly service fee and ground rent?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Totterdown