Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in West Barnes:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in West Barnes, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a West Barnes conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to West Barnes leasehold conveyancing

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in West Barnes. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in West Barnes should include some of the following:

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but may include a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.For example, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in West Barnes please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in West Barnes

    • I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in West Barnes. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in West Barnes are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in West Barnes in which case you should be shopping around for a West Barnes conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.

    I am employed by a long established estate agent office in West Barnes where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local West Barnes conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence 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 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 at the same time as 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 West Barnes from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in West Barnes can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? West Barnes leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • Some West Barnes leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I am the proprietor of a basement flat in West Barnes. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for the purchase of the freehold?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a West Barnes conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a West Barnes flat is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case affected 1 flat.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in West Barnes what are the most frequent lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in West Barnes. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You may have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in West Barnes