Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Borehamwood and Elstree

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Borehamwood and Elstree, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Borehamwood and Elstree leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Borehamwood and Elstree. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Borehamwood and Elstree - 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.

Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold house in Borehamwood and Elstree. Conveyancing and Alliance & Leicester mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Borehamwood and Elstree who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Borehamwood and Elstree conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a two apartments in Borehamwood and Elstree which have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Borehamwood and Elstree is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Borehamwood and Elstree conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Borehamwood and Elstree where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Borehamwood and Elstree conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 buyer.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Borehamwood and Elstree from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Borehamwood and Elstree can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Borehamwood and Elstree charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Borehamwood and Elstree.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Borehamwood and Elstree state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of Borehamwood and Elstree 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 bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

    • Borehamwood and Elstree Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before buying

      Does this lease have more than 82 years left? Is anyone aware of any major works in the near future that will add a premium to the service costs? Is there a share of the freehold?

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Borehamwood and Elstree