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Common questions relating to Woodbridge leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to exchange soon on a basement flat in Woodbridge. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • 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
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Woodbridge please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Woodbridge

    • I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Woodbridge.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge 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 unless 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.

    Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Woodbridge. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Woodbridge who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

    The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Woodbridge conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Woodbridge where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Woodbridge conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

    As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to wait 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 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 buyer.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Woodbridge with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Woodbridge can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Woodbridge charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Woodbridge.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Woodbridge state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • A minority of Woodbridge leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage 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.

    • Woodbridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing

      You should be aware that where the lease has less than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the apartment. It is worth checking with your mortgage company that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will probably require a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. For most Woodbridgelease extensions you would need to own the residence for two years in order to be legally able to exercise a lease extension. The majority of Woodbridge leasehold properties will incur a service charge for maintenance of the block levied by the management company. If you buy the apartment you will have to pay this amount, normally periodically accross the year. This can differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. In all probability there will be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large figure, say around £50-£100 but you need to check as sometimes it can be surprisingly expensive. What prohibitions are there in the Woodbridge Lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Woodbridge