My flat in Ladywood is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does the property lawyer need to be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel in order to deal with repayment of my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently in recent years.
My friend suggested that if I am purchasing in Ladywood I should carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?
A search of this type is occasionally quoted for as part of the standard Ladywood conveyancing searches. It is a large document of about 40 pages, listing and setting out significant information about Ladywood around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the Ladywood Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Ladywood Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful data concerning Ladywood.
Me and my brother purchased a 4 bedroom Georgian house in Ladywood. Conveyancing lawyer acted for me and Barclays Direct. I did a free Land Registry search last week and I saw two entries: the first freehold, another for leasehold with the exact same address. I thought I was buying a freehold how can I check?
You should read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register as there may be mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered proprietor of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Ladywood and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they sell they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with mortgage companies. You can also question the position with your conveyancing lawyer who carried out the work.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in Ladywood. Conveyancing is necessary evil at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. What sort of enquires would be asked in new build legal work.
Here is a sample of a few leasehold new build enquiries that you may expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Ladywood
-
The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Where service of notices and proceedings can be at the property demised please confirm that this can be amended to include simultaneous services at the Lessees’ solicitors’ offices where the Lessee from time to time is not resident in the UK - such solicitors may be varied by notice in writing to the Landlord from time to time but otherwise will be as previously specified. Please confirm the Lease plans are architect prepared. Please supply evidence that the form of Lease proposed has been approved by the Land Registry.
How can the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954 impact my commercial offices in Ladywood and how can you help?
The particular law that you refer to provides a safeguard to business leaseholders, granting the dueness to apply to court for a new tenancy and continue in occupation when the lease comes to an end. There are limited grounds that a landlord can refuse a lease renewal and the rules are complicated. Fees are different for commercial conveyancing. Ladywood is one of our hundreds of areas of the UK in which the firms we work with have offices
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Ladywood with the aim of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Ladywood can be avoided if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers’ conveyancers. If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Ladywood conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Ladywood leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance. If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled. A minority of Ladywood leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
I invested in buying a basement flat in Ladywood, conveyancing having been completed 9 years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Ladywood with over 90 years remaining are worth £222,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced annually. The lease terminates on 21st October 2095
With just 70 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to range between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as professional fees.
The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be additional issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.