I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Washwood Heath. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Washwood Heath - 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 have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my flat in Washwood Heath. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Washwood Heath.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Washwood Heath. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Washwood Heath who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Washwood Heath conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £400000 flat in Washwood Heath next week. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Washwood Heath?

For the majority of leasehold sales in Washwood Heath conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Washwood Heath
• 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 Washwood Heath leasehold premises is £350. For Washwood Heath 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 answers.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Washwood Heath what are the most common lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Washwood Heath. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Skipton Building Society, and Aldermore all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

Washwood Heath Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

Generally speaking the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, albeit that there some managing agents in Washwood Heath ask leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund and this is used to offset against larger works. Plenty Washwood Heath leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service charge for maintenance of the block invoiced on behalf of the management company. If you buy the apartment you will have to pay this liability, usually quarterly during the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for buildings with lifts and large common areas. In all probability there will be a ground rent to be met yearly, this is usually not a large amount, say about £25-£75 but you need to enquire as sometimes it can be many hundreds of pounds. Who takes charge for maintaining and repairing the block?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Washwood Heath