Woodbury leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.
Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Woodbury - 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.
My husband and I may need to rent out our Woodbury ground floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Woodbury conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
Even though your previous Woodbury conveyancing lawyer is no longer around you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you must seek permission from your landlord or other appropriate person in advance of subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from letting out the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.
I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Woodbury. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What are my options?
If 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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Woodbury.
I work for a busy estate agent office in Woodbury where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Woodbury conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 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 buyer.
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
- The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Woodbury levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Woodbury.
I am the registered owner of a 1 bedroom flat in Woodbury, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Comparable properties in Woodbury with a long lease are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 charged once a year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2097
With just 72 years unexpired the likely cost is going to span between £11,400 and £13,200 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other concerns that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
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