Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Winchelsea

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Winchelsea, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Winchelsea conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Winchelsea leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Winchelsea. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Winchelsea - 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.

There are only Fifty years unexpired on my flat in Winchelsea. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Winchelsea.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Winchelsea. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Winchelsea are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Winchelsea so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Winchelsea conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Winchelsea where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Winchelsea conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Winchelsea with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Winchelsea can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Winchelsea charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Winchelsea.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Winchelsea leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a 2 bed flat in Winchelsea, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Winchelsea with a long lease are worth £180,000. The ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2099

    With 79 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £10,500 and £12,000 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to supply the actual costs without more comprehensive investigations. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Winchelsea