Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Wokingham:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Wokingham, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, RBS or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Common questions relating to Wokingham leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Wokingham. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Wokingham should include some of the following:

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • The total extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but may include a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Defining your rights in respect of common areas in the block.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Wokingham please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Wokingham

    • I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Wokingham. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Wokingham are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Wokingham in which case you should be shopping around for a Wokingham conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

    I own a leasehold house in Wokingham. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage organised. 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 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Wokingham who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

    The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Wokingham conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Wokingham where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Wokingham conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    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 buyer.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wokingham from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wokingham can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Wokingham levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wokingham.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Wokingham state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • Some Wokingham leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Wokingham conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Wokingham Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      Is there a share of the freehold? Who takes responsibility for maintaining and repairing the building? The answer will be helpful as a) areas could cause problems in the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will want to know about it

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Wokingham