Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Deptford:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Deptford, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Deptford conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Sample questions relating to Deptford leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Deptford. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Deptford - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Deptford. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

In a situation 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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Deptford conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Deptford conveyancing practice) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with two or three firms including non Deptford conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Deptford with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Deptford can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Deptford charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Deptford.
  • A minority of Deptford leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property 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 the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Deptford conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • After months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Deptford. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Deptford flat is 41 Endwell Road in March 2013. this matter relateed to the acquisition of the freehold of a mid- terraced Victorian house converted into three separate self-contained dwellings. By an order dated 28/11/2012, Deputy District Judge Cole in the Bromley County Court held that the leaseholders were entitled to acquire the freehold and directed that the premium payable be determined by this Tribunal. The Tribunal assessed the premium to be £14,753 This case related to 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 80.01 years.

    What makes a Deptford lease defective?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Deptford is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Birmingham Midshires, Skipton Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.