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

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

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge

There are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Cambridge. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Cambridge.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Cambridge. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge should include some of the following:

  • You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • 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 sinking fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • 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 included in your report on your leasehold property in Cambridge please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Cambridge

    • I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, 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 would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Cambridge. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Cambridge ?

    Most houses in Cambridge are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Cambridge in which case you should be shopping around for a Cambridge conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee 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 alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Cambridge levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge.
  • 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 Cambridge state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Cambridge 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 financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 prior to 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 over as opposed to unresolved.

    • In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge what are the most common lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Cambridge is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed 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.

    Cambridge Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

      This information is helpful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to know about it Can you inform me if there are any major works anticipated that will increase the service costs? In the main the outlay for major works are not incorporated into the maintenance charges, although a few managing agents in Cambridge require leasehold owners to contribute towards a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major repairs or maintenance.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cambridge