Can you explain why leasehold purchase conveyancing in Thatcham costs more?

Thatcham leasehold conveyancing transactions usually involve additional investigations than freeholds including investigating the Lease, liaising with the Landlord such as serving relevant 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.

What does a local search inform me regarding the property we're purchasing in Thatcham?

Thatcham conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search company for instance Xpress Legal The local search plays a central role in most Thatcham conveyancing purchase; that is if you don’t want any unpleasant surprises after you move into your new home. The search should supply information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the premises (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject headings.

As co-executor for the will of my uncle I am selling a residence in Swansea but live in Thatcham. My conveyancer (who is 260 miles from merequires that I execute a stat dec ahead of completion. Could you suggest a conveyancing solicitor in Thatcham to witness this legal document for me?

Technically speaking you should not be required to have the documents witnessed by a conveyancing solicitor. Normally any notary public or solicitor will be fine regardless of whether they are Thatcham based

I work for a busy estate agency in Thatcham where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Thatcham conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

I inherited a 1 bedroom flat in Thatcham, conveyancing formalities finalised June 2007. Can you work out an approximate cost of a lease extension? Equivalent flats in Thatcham with over 90 years remaining are worth £190,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £45 invoiced every year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2088

With 62 years unexpired we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £17,100 and £19,800 plus costs.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to advice on a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information before getting professional advice.

Is there a reason that Thatcham conveyancing charges differ for leasehold and freehold properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Thatcham can involve additional due diligence including investigating the lease, liaising with the freeholder, obtaining up to date rent receipts, landlord’s consents, management company’s accounts amongst other tasks.