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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Woburn, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley be sure to find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Questions and Answers: Woburn leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Woburn. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Woburn - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Due to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Woburn. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
  • 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
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Woburn please enquire of your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Woburn

    • I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Woburn.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?

    It best that you clear the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    I've recently bought a leasehold house in Woburn. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

    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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).

    What makes a Woburn lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Woburn. All leases are individual and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Woburn Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

      The prefered form of lease arrangement is if the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the lessees have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed if it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent employed by the leaseholders. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their service charge payments? What prohibitions are contained in the Woburn Lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Woburn