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Questions and Answers: Rowen leasehold conveyancing

I only have Fifty years remaining on my lease in Rowen. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

If 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Rowen.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Rowen where we see a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Rowen conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Rowen conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Rowen conveyancing practice) it is imperative 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 Rowen conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

  • How many lease extensions have they conducted in Rowen in the last twenty four months?
  • What are the costs for lease extension work?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Rowen from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rowen can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Rowen levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rowen.
  • A minority of Rowen 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 put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 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 resolved 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • What makes a Rowen lease unmortgageable?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Rowen is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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 may encounter 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 , Coventry Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the buyer to withdraw.

    Rowen Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

      Its a good idea to find out as much as possible concerning the company managing the building as they will impact your use and enjoyment of the property. As the proprietor of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to day to day issues like the upkeep of the communal areas. Enquire of other tenants what they think of them. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending the funds. Be sure to discover if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. By way of example plenty of leases prohibit pets being permitted in in a block in Rowen. If you like the apartmentin Rowen but your dog can’t make the move with you then you have a very hard compromise. Is anyone aware of any major works on the horizon that will increase the maintenance charges?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Rowen