Queen's Park leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries
I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Queen's Park.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a leasehold house in Queen's Park. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Queen's Park ?
The majority of houses in Queen's Park are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Queen's Park so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Queen's Park conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.
I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Queen's Park where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Queen's Park conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as 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. This means that the proposed purchaser 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 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 buyer.
All being well we will complete our sale of a £175000 apartment in Queen's Park in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Queen's Park?
For most leasehold sales in Queen's Park conveyancing will involve, queries regarding the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
- Answering conveyancing due diligence questions
- Where consent is required before sale in Queen's Park
- Copies of the building insurance and schedule
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Queen's Park conveyancing firm to help?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the sum to be paid.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Queen's Park property is 4 & 4A Charteris Road in June 2009. the Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the enfranchisement of 4/4a Charteris Road to be £15,510 for at 4and £15,694 for at 4a This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.02 years.
What makes a Queen's Park lease unacceptable for security purposes?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Queen's Park. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
- Insurance obligations
- Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
- Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage
You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.
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