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

Get a Quote

Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Woodbury leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Woodbury. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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 Woodbury please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Woodbury

    • I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Woodbury. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Woodbury are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Woodbury in which case you should be looking for a Woodbury conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
    • Some Woodbury leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Woodbury home move. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 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 premises on the market for sale.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £325000 maisonette in Woodbury on Thursday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £324 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Woodbury?

    Woodbury conveyancing on leasehold flats more often than not involves the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions the majority will be willing to assist. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    What are the common deficiencies that you see in leases for Woodbury properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Lloyds TSB Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Woodbury Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries Prior to buying

      What prohibitions are there in the Woodbury Lease? How much is the ground rent and service charge? How many years are left on the lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Woodbury