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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Clydesdale , Birmingham Midshires or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Petts Wood conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Sample questions relating to Petts Wood leasehold conveyancing

I only have 72 years left on my lease in Petts Wood. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Petts Wood.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Petts Wood which have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Petts Wood is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the premises. For most purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 Petts Wood conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new 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.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Petts Wood where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Petts Wood conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as 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 offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Petts Wood conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Petts Wood conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with several firms including non Petts Wood conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Petts Wood in the last twenty four months?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Petts Wood leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • Some Petts Wood leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. 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 prior to 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 better to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Petts Wood conveyancing deal. Where a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I have given up negotiating a lease extension in Petts Wood. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Petts Wood conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Petts Wood residence is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 50.57 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Petts Wood