Buying or selling a leasehold property entails more work than a standard freehold transaction, having the right Property Lawyer will ensure this does not cause delays for your move.

Leasehold conveyancing is the legal process for buying a leasehold property. All homes are owned on either a freehold or leasehold basis. Freehold means you own the building and the land it stands on outright. Leasehold means you have a lease from the freeholder to use the home for a set number of years. Effectively what you are buying is the benefit of the lease contract rather than outright ownership of the property. Leases are long-term usually from 90 to 999 years.

We have Property Lawyers that specifically specialise in leasehold sale and purchases and are trained to deal with the complexities it requires. They will always keep you up to date, explain anything you do not understand and we've even negotiated on the fees for you to ensure you get the best price!

What is leasehold conveyancing?

If you are buying a leasehold property then your solicitor will need to look through the lease and its terms on top of all the normal legal work involved in buying a property. They will also have to deal with the landlord and/or management company as well as the vendor’s solicitor. This can make the process longer and more expensive. All legal costs related to buying or selling a leasehold are included within your initial quote, there is an additional fee to pay for a leasehold pack if you are selling the property and this is a separate cost not charged by your Property Lawyer, but the management company.

Not sure if your new home is leasehold? If it is a flat, it is highly likely that it is leasehold. It’s unusual for a house to be leasehold but some old terraced houses are leasehold as well as some new build houses. The estate agent’s marketing materials should confirm the ‘tenure’ of the property (that’s whether it is leasehold or freehold). Our legal team will always confirm this at the early stages, however it is always a good idea to check this when buying a new property.

We understand the importance of being kept up to date with the sale/purchase of your home and also that we all live busy lives. So you can now track your progress from your phone or online using the Property Lawyers online tracking app.

When you use one of our recommended Property Lawyers you will also be fully protected with our 3 Part Protection scheme that is included in your quote! You'll get a certificate for a No Sale, No Legal Fee, Lifetime File Transfer and a Search Fee Guarantee to give you confidence in your move.

Listen to what Pearce had to say about his experience with onthemove