Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Woodley:

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

Recently asked questions relating to Woodley leasehold conveyancing

Due to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Woodley. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Woodley 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
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • 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 is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Woodley please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Woodley

    • I own a leasehold house in Woodley. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Woodley who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Woodley conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured 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've recently bought a leasehold property in Woodley. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

    In a situation 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. 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 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 advice can you give us when it comes to finding a Woodley conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Woodley conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Woodley conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

    • How many lease extensions have they completed in Woodley in the last year?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Woodley who can give a testimonial?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Woodley from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woodley can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Woodley state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
  • Some Woodley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Woodley conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Woodley Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before buying

      It would be sensible to discover if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Woodley. If you love the propertyin Woodley yet your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a hard choice. If a Woodley lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely require a lease extension at some point and it is worth discovering how much this would cost. For most Woodleylease extensions you would be be obliged to have owned the premises for two years before you are eligible to carry out a lease extension. What is the length of the lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Woodley