Borehamwood leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Borehamwood. Before I get started I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.
Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Borehamwood - 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 own a leasehold house in Borehamwood. Conveyancing and The Mortgage Works mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Borehamwood who acted for me is not around.Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Borehamwood conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.
I am looking at a couple of apartments in Borehamwood which have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?
There are plenty of short leases in Borehamwood. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is 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 protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field
I work for a busy estate agent office in Borehamwood where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Borehamwood conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start 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 simultaneously with completion of the sale.
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 purchaser.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £250000 flat in Borehamwood in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Borehamwood?
Borehamwood conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the buyer’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be content to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.
I inherited a two-bedroom flat in Borehamwood. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?
Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Borehamwood conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Borehamwood flat is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 71.73 years.
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