Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Wheatley

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Wheatley, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or NatWest make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Wheatley leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years unexpired on my flat in Wheatley. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Wheatley.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Wheatley. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Wheatley please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Wheatley

    • Back In 2000, I bought a leasehold house in Wheatley. Conveyancing and HSBC Bank mortgage organised. 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 1993. The conveyancing solicitor in Wheatley who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    First make enquiries of 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 Wheatley conveyancing firm 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 landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wheatley with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wheatley can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Wheatley charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wheatley.
  • Some Wheatley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • 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 can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Wheatley conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer 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. 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.

    • We expect to complete our sale of a £475000 maisonette in Wheatley in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Wheatley?

    Wheatley conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the buyer’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable charge for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    I invested in buying a leasehold flat in Wheatley, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1995. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Similar properties in Wheatley with over 90 years remaining are worth £257,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2106

    You have 80 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to span between £11,400 and £13,200 plus costs.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.

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    Lease Extensions in Wheatley