Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch:

Get a Quote

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

Recently asked questions relating to South Hornchurch leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and most are in South Hornchurch - 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 own a leasehold flat in South Hornchurch. Conveyancing and Halifax mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in South Hornchurch who previously acted has now retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a South Hornchurch conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a long established estate agency in South Hornchurch where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local South Hornchurch conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can initiate 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 start 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 needs to be completed 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 provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in South Hornchurch charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information 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 frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a South Hornchurch home move. If a reissued share is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I have given up trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in South Hornchurch. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a South Hornchurch conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a South Hornchurch premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 57.5 years.

    What makes a South Hornchurch lease defective?

    Leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.