Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Abbey Wood
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Abbey Wood. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Abbey Wood ?
The majority of houses in Abbey Wood are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Abbey Wood so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Abbey Wood conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.
I am looking at a couple of flats in Abbey Wood which have about 50 years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Abbey Wood is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. For most purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Abbey Wood conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Abbey Wood. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Abbey Wood where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Abbey Wood conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
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.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £ 225000 apartment in Abbey Wood next week. The freeholder has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Abbey Wood?
For most leasehold sales in Abbey Wood conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
- Answering pre-exchange enquiries
- Where consent is required before sale in Abbey Wood
- Supplying insurance information
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Abbey Wood. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Abbey Wood conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Abbey Wood premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case related to 13 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.
I purchased a split level flat in Abbey Wood, conveyancing was carried out in 2007. Can you please calculate a probable premium for a statutory lease extension? Similar flats in Abbey Wood with a long lease are worth £253,000. The ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease terminates on 21st October 2091
With just 65 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £14,300 and £16,400 plus costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not move forward based on this information without first getting professional advice.