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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Maidenhead, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Maidenhead leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

There are only Seventy years left on my flat in Maidenhead. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Maidenhead.

I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Maidenhead.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the service charge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Maidenhead where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Maidenhead conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Maidenhead from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maidenhead can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Maidenhead charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. 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 common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maidenhead.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Maidenhead state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Maidenhead home move. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £175000 flat in Maidenhead next Wednesday . The landlords agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Maidenhead?

    Maidenhead conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    Maidenhead Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries before Purchasing

      This information is important as a) areas could cause problems in the building as the communal areas may start to deteriorate where services remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will need to have all the details Are there any major works on the horizon that could increase the maintenance fees? Be sure to discover if the the lease contains any onerous restrictions in the lease. By way of example some leases prohibit pets being allowed in in a block in Maidenhead. If you love the apartmentin Maidenhead yet your dog can’t make the move with you then you have a very difficult choice.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Maidenhead