Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Common questions relating to Small Heath leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Small Heath - 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.

I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my lease in Small Heath. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

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 mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Small Heath.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Small Heath where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Small Heath conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. 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.

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.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Small Heath charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Small Heath home move. If a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • What are the frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Small Heath properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Small Heath. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You will have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Chelsea Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Leasehold Conveyancing in Small Heath - A selection of Queries before buying

      Please note if it is no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the marketability of the property. Check with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will almost definitely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this will be. For most Small Heathlease extensions you will be required to have owned the premises for two years before you are legally able to exercise a lease extension. Its a good idea to discover as much as possible regarding the company managing the building as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you will be in the clutches of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to practical issues such as the tidiness of the communal areas. Enquire of other people if they are happy with their management. On a final note, investigate as to the dates that the maintenance charges are due to the relevant party and precisely how they are spending that money. This information is important as a) areas could result in problems for the building as the common areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to know about it

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Small Heath