Why is leasehold purchase conveyancing in Stourbridge is more expensive?

Stourbridge leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving applicable notices on the Landlord or managing agent, obtaining up-to-date service charge and management information, obtaining Landlord’s consents and reviewing management accounts and formation documents.

I need some expedited conveyancing in Stourbridge as I am under a deadline to sign on the dotted line within 2 weeks. A home loan is not required. Is it possible to escape the need for conveyancing searches to save fees and time?

If.Given you are not getting a home loan you are at free not to have searches conducted although no conveyancer would suggest that you don't. Drawing on years of experience of conveyancing in Stourbridge the following are instances of what can crop up and adversely impact future mortgageability: Enforcement Notices, Outstanding Charges, Outstanding Grants, Road Schemes,...

Are there restrictive covenants that are commonly identified during conveyancing in Stourbridge?

Covenants that are restrictive in nature can be picked up when reviewing land registry title as part of the legal transfer of property in Stourbridge. An 1874 stipulation that was seen was ‘The houses to be erected on the estate are each to be of a uniform elevation in accordance with the drawings to be prepared or approved by the vendor’s surveyor…’

Due to the input of my in-laws I had a survey completed on a property in Stourbridge prior to instructing solicitors. I have been told that there is a flying freehold overhang to the property. The surveyor advised that some lenders will not grant a loan on a flying freehold house.

It depends who your proposed lender is. Lloyds has different instructions for example to Nationwide. Should you wish to telephone us we can check via the relevant lender. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can assist as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Stourbridge. Conveyancing may be slightly more expensive based on your lender's requirements.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Stourbridge where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Stourbridge conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 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 before, or at the same time as 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.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Stourbridge - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

Many Stourbridge leasehold properties will incur a service bill for the upkeep of the block levied on behalf of the landlord. Where you purchase the flat you will have to pay this charge, normally periodically accross the year. This can differ from a few hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met annual, this is usually not a significant amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire as sometimes it could be many hundreds of pounds. What prohibitions exist in the Stourbridge Lease? Who is in charge of the building?