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Leasehold conveyancing in Woburn Sands is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Woburn Sands and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Woburn Sands

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Woburn Sands.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Woburn Sands. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Woburn Sands conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Woburn Sands conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Woburn Sands conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What are the charges for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Woburn Sands from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woburn Sands can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Woburn Sands levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woburn Sands.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Woburn Sands leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • Some Woburn Sands 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 obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

    • All being well we will complete our sale of a £350000 maisonette in Woburn Sands next week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Woburn Sands?

    Woburn Sands conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually requires the purchaser’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries most will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I invested in buying a split level flat in Woburn Sands, conveyancing having been completed 2002. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Woburn Sands with a long lease are worth £229,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced annually. The lease ceases on 21st October 2096

    With 74 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £13,300 and £15,400 plus professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to provide a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action based on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Woburn Sands