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

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Bush Hill Park, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Frequently asked questions relating to Bush Hill Park leasehold conveyancing

I only have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Bush Hill Park. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Bush Hill Park.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Bush Hill Park.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you pay the invoice 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 until 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.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Bush Hill Park. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Bush Hill Park who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a Bush Hill Park conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Bush Hill Park. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. It is an essential part 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bush Hill Park with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bush Hill Park can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Bush Hill Park levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bush Hill Park.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Bush Hill Park state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Having spent months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bush Hill Park. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to calculate the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Bush Hill Park flat is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 81.79 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Bush Hill Park