Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in High Peak:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in High Peak, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley be sure to choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in High Peak

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in High Peak. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering High Peak.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor flat in High Peak.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in High Peak where we have experienced a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local High Peak conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 buyer.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a High Peak conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a High Peak conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non High Peak conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • Can they put you in touch with client in High Peak who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in High Peak from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in High Peak can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in High Peak levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in High Peak.
  • Some High Peak leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 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 present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a High Peak conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I acquired a 2 bed flat in High Peak, conveyancing was carried out 1997. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Comparable flats in High Peak with an extended lease are worth £170,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2091

    With 66 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £11,400 and £13,200 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in High Peak