Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Whitehaven:

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Whitehaven, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Whitehaven leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I only have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Whitehaven. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Whitehaven.

Due to exchange soon on a garden flat in Whitehaven. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Whitehaven should include some of the following:

  • Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease contain a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Whitehaven please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Whitehaven

    • I own a leasehold flat in Whitehaven. Conveyancing and Coventry Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Whitehaven who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Whitehaven conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Whitehaven 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 Whitehaven conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 Whitehaven from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Whitehaven can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Whitehaven levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Whitehaven.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Whitehaven leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Whitehaven leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • 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 purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Whitehaven, conveyancing formalities finalised in 1997. How much will my lease extension cost? Equivalent properties in Whitehaven with an extended lease are worth £187,000. The ground rent is £50 yearly. The lease ceases on 21st October 2101

    With just 76 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £10,500 and £12,000 plus costs.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Whitehaven