I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in West Dean. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in West Dean - 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 attracted to a two maisonettes in West Dean which have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in West Dean. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a long established estate agent office in West Dean where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local West Dean conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. 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 disposal of the property.

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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in West Dean with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in West Dean can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? West Dean leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.

Some West Dean leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should 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 able to meet 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 the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a West Dean conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important 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 premises on the market for sale.

All being well we will complete our sale of a £200000 maisonette in West Dean next Monday . The freeholder has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in West Dean?

West Dean conveyancing on leasehold apartments ordinarily involves administration charges raised by management companies :

• Addressing pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in West Dean
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for West Dean leasehold premises is £350. For West Dean 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 answers.

I invested in buying a 1 bedroom flat in West Dean, conveyancing was carried out 3 years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding properties in West Dean with a long lease are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2099

With just 74 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £8,600 and £9,800 plus professional fees.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in West Dean