Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in West Green:

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Sample questions relating to West Green leasehold conveyancing

I am hoping to complete next month on a garden flat in West Green. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in West Green should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in West Green please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in West Green

    • I have just started marketing my ground floor apartment in West Green.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    I work for a long established estate agent office in West Green where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local West Green conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in West Green from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Green can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in West Green levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Green.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? West Green leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • Some West Green 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 put in hand bank and professional references. The 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 are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a West Green conveyancing deal. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Having spent years of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Green. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the LVT to determine the premium.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a West Green premises is 61 Clinton Road in April 2012. Following a vesting order Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 on 5th July 2011 the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £17,000 This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 73.88 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in West Green what are the most frequent lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in West Green is not unique. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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. HSBC Bank, Bank of Scotland, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to pull out.