Leasehold Conveyancing in Willingham - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Willingham, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Willingham leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Willingham. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Willingham - 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 have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my lease in Willingham. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Willingham.

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 more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Willingham. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Willingham ?

Most houses in Willingham are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Willingham so you should seriously consider looking for a Willingham conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Willingham. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

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

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Willingham can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Willingham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • Some Willingham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is under 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 premises on the market for sale.

    • Willingham Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should consider before Purchasing

      Plenty Willingham leasehold properties will be liable to pay a service bill for maintenance of the block invoiced by the landlord. Where you purchase the property you will have to pay this charge, normally quarterly accross the year. This could vary from two or three hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for blocks with lifts and large communal areas. In all probability there will be a rentcharge to be met yearly, normally this is not a significant amount, say approximately £25-£75 but you should to check as on occasion it could be surprisingly expensive. Make sure you enquire if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Willingham. If you like the propertyin Willingham yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you have a very difficult compromise. The prefered form of lease arrangement is where the freehold interest is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the tenants enjoy control and notwithstanding that a managing agent is frequently retained if the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Willingham