I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Hampden Pk. Before I get started I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Hampden Pk - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my flat in Hampden Pk. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application 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. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Hampden Pk.

I am employed by a busy estate agency in Hampden Pk where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Hampden Pk conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 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.

Completion in due on the sale of our £175000 maisonette in Hampden Pk in just under a week. The management company has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hampden Pk?

Hampden Pk conveyancing on leasehold flats normally involves administration charges invoiced by landlords agents :

• Addressing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Hampden Pk
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Hampden Pk leasehold premises is £350. For Hampden Pk conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

What makes a Hampden Pk lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Hampden Pk is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You will have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Barnsley Building Society, and TSB 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 provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hampden Pk - Examples of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

For many Hampden Pk leaseholds the outlay for major works tend not to be included within service charges, albeit that some managing agents in Hampden Pk ask tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. Are there any major works on the horizon that will add a premium to the maintenance charges? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Hampden Pk