Leasehold Conveyancing in Westbury Park - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Westbury Park, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Westbury Park conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Westbury Park

My husband and I may need to let out our Westbury Park ground floor flat for a while due to a career opportunity. We used a Westbury Park conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Westbury Park conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of prior permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Planning to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Westbury Park. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Westbury Park should include some of the following:

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Westbury Park please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Westbury Park

    • Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Westbury Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    In a situation 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. A critical element 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).

    I work for a long established estate agency in Westbury Park where we see a few leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Westbury Park conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start 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. This means that the buyer 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.

    Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Westbury Park with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Westbury Park can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Westbury Park leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you fail to have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • Some Westbury Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the annual 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 the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a Westbury Park conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I am the registered owner of a ground floor flat in Westbury Park, conveyancing was carried out half a dozen years ago. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Corresponding properties in Westbury Park with over 90 years remaining are worth £212,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease comes to an end on 21st October 2080

    You have 55 years unexpired we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £26,600 and £30,800 as well as plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

    The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not move forward based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Westbury Park