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

Get a Quote

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Hillingdon conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Hillingdon leasehold conveyancing

I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Hillingdon.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear the invoice 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I am looking at a two flats in Hillingdon both have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

I work for a long established estate agency in Hillingdon where we see a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hillingdon conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Some Hillingdon leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, 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 yearly 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 solicitors.
  • 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 put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Hillingdon conveyancing deal. If a reissued share is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Following years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hillingdon. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to judgment on the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Hillingdon residence is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 69 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon what are the most common lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Hillingdon is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You will encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hillingdon