Common questions relating to Hurst Green leasehold conveyancing
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hurst Green. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Hurst Green - 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.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Hurst Green.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until 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've recently bought a leasehold house in Hurst Green. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Hurst Green where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hurst Green conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with 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.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £425000 apartment in Hurst Green next week. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Hurst Green?
For the majority of leasehold sales in Hurst Green conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
- Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
- Where consent is required before sale in Hurst Green
- Copies of the building insurance and schedule
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
I own a 1st floor flat in Hurst Green, conveyancing having been completed in 2001. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Hurst Green with an extended lease are worth £257,000. The ground rent is £45 yearly. The lease expires on 21st October 2089
With 64 years remaining on your lease the likely cost is going to be between £20,000 and £23,000 plus legals.
The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for renewing 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 may be other issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
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