Leasehold Conveyancing in East Bedfont - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Questions and Answers: East Bedfont leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in East Bedfont - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in East Bedfont.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a East Bedfont conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a East Bedfont conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non East Bedfont conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

  • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • How many lease extensions have they completed in East Bedfont in the last year?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in East Bedfont charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in East Bedfont state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • A minority of East Bedfont 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 put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge 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 reveal the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

    • All being well we will complete the disposal of our £150000 apartment in East Bedfont in just under a week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in East Bedfont?

    East Bedfont conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

    Following months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in East Bedfont. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to judgment on the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a East Bedfont flat is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 82.93 years.