I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Wargrave. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Wargrave - 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 employed by a busy estate agent office in Wargrave where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Wargrave conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Wargrave conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Wargrave conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Wargrave conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?

Can they put you in touch with client in Wargrave who can give a testimonial?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wargrave from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wargrave can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Some Wargrave leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents 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 buyers or their solicitors.

If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Wargrave home move. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £400000 apartment in Wargrave next week. The managing agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Wargrave?

Wargrave conveyancing on leasehold flats ordinarily results in fees being invoiced by freeholders :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Wargrave
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• 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 Wargrave leasehold property is £350. For Wargrave 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 provide the information.

I purchased a ground floor flat in Wargrave, conveyancing having been completed 1995. How much will my lease extension cost? Comparable properties in Wargrave with over 90 years remaining are worth £188,000. The ground rent is £55 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2080

With only 55 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £29,500 and £34,000 plus professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs without more detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Wargrave