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Edmonton leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in Edmonton.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

Back In 2001, I bought a leasehold house in Edmonton. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Edmonton who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Edmonton conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Edmonton both have about fifty years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Edmonton where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Edmonton conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Edmonton with the intention of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Edmonton can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or managing agents in Edmonton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information 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 usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Edmonton.
  • A minority of Edmonton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Edmonton conveyancing deal. Where a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I inherited a ground flat in Edmonton. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for a lease extension?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the amount due.

    An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold case for a Edmonton premises is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 80.01 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Edmonton