Questions and Answers: St John's Wood leasehold conveyancing
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.
Assuming the lease is registered - and most are in St John's Wood - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in St John's Wood.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
It best that you 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 until 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.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in St John's Wood both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are plenty of short leases in St John's Wood. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in St John's Wood. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £475000 maisonette in St John's Wood in six days. The landlords agents has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in St John's Wood?
St John's Wood conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is above £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.
After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in St John's Wood. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a St John's Wood conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St John's Wood residence is Garden Flat 195 Goldhurst Terrace in May 2012. The Tribunal held in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be £60,855.00. This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.16 years.
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