Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Avery Hill:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Avery Hill, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Avery Hill

I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Avery Hill. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Notwithstanding that your previous Avery Hill conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the property. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to seek consent from your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining permission. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Avery Hill. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Avery Hill.

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Avery Hill where we see a number of flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Avery Hill conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Avery Hill with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Avery Hill can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Avery Hill levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Avery Hill.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Avery Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Avery Hill leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.

    • Having spent years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Avery Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Avery Hill conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Avery Hill residence is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case was in relation to 1 flat.

    What makes a Avery Hill lease problematic?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Avery Hill. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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 problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Virgin Money, and Bank of Ireland all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Avery Hill