Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Wool:

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

Questions and Answers: Wool leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Wool. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in Wool - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

Planning to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Wool. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • 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 For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Wool please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Wool

    • I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Wool both have about fifty years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

    I work for a busy estate agency in Wool where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Wool conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 proposed purchaser need not have 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 prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wool from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wool can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Wool levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. 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 frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wool.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Wool state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • A minority of Wool leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Leasehold Conveyancing in Wool - A selection of Queries before buying

      How much is the ground rent and service charge? The best form of lease arrangement is a share of the freehold. In this arrangement the leaseholders enjoy control and even though a managing agent is frequently retained where it is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent retained by the leaseholders. Where a Wool lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the salability of the property. Check with your bank that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and you need to have some idea of how much this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will need to own the residence for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Wool