Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere:

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Hazlemere leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I have recently realised that I have 68 years unexpired on my flat in Hazlemere. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Hazlemere.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Hazlemere both have about 50 years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Hazlemere. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. A critical element 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).

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Hazlemere where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Hazlemere conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in Hazlemere charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hazlemere.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Hazlemere state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
  • Some Hazlemere leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

    • Hazlemere Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

      In the main the cost for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that a few managing agents in Hazlemere ask tenants to contribute towards a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of building a fund for larger repairs or maintenance. This question is important as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will wish to know about it What prohibitions exist in the Hazlemere Lease?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hazlemere