Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Yaxley

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Yaxley, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, RBS or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Yaxley conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Yaxley leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

There are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Yaxley. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Yaxley.

I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Yaxley. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Yaxley ?

The majority of houses in Yaxley are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Yaxley in which case you should be shopping around for a Yaxley conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Yaxley which have about forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Yaxley conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Yaxley conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Yaxley conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be useful:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Yaxley in the last twenty four months?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Yaxley from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Yaxley can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Yaxley 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 accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Yaxley.
  • Some Yaxley leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, 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 will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Yaxley conveyancing transaction. If a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I purchased a leasehold flat in Yaxley, conveyancing having been completed 3 years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Equivalent properties in Yaxley with over 90 years remaining are worth £255,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £60 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2074

    With 53 years remaining on your lease we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £38,000 and £44,000 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt other issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Yaxley