Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Wargrave:

While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Wargrave, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Wargrave leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Wargrave.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Wargrave. 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 lessee 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. A critical element 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 reputable estate agent office in Wargrave where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Wargrave conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 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 provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wargrave from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wargrave can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • Some Wargrave leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to 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 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 solicitors.
  • 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 nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a new share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Wargrave home move. Where a new share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

  • All being well we will complete the sale of our £150000 apartment in Wargrave in 8 days. The managing agents has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Wargrave?

    Wargrave conveyancing on leasehold flats normally results in fees being raised by managing agents :

    • Completing pre-contract enquiries
    • Where consent is required before sale in Wargrave
    • 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 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.

    Wargrave Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

      Does the lease have in excess of 80 years remaining? The best form of lease structure is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the tenants benefit from being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed where the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. You will want to discover as much as possible about the company managing the block as they can either make your living at the property much easier or a lot more difficult. As the owner of a leasehold property you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical matters such as the upkeep of the communal areas. Don't be shy to ask prospective neighbours whether they are happy with their service. On a final note, find out the dates that the service charges are due to the relevant party and precisely how they are spending the funds.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Wargrave