Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hyde Park:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hyde Park, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Common questions relating to Hyde Park leasehold conveyancing

I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Hyde Park.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 unless 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.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Hyde Park. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Hyde Park are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Hyde Park so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Hyde Park conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hyde Park from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hyde Park can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Hyde Park state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
  • A minority of Hyde Park 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 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Completion in due on the sale of our £275000 garden flat in Hyde Park next week. The landlords agents has quoted £324 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hyde Park?

    Hyde Park conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to sell the property.

    What makes a Hyde Park lease unmortgageable?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hyde Park. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements 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

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Hyde Park Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

      It is important to be aware if fixing the lift or some other significant cost is due shortly to be shared between the leaseholders and will dramatically impact the level of the service costs or result in a specific payment. It would be sensible to enquire if the the lease contains any unreasonable restrictions in the lease. For example it is fairly common in Hyde Park leases that pets are not allowed in in a block in Hyde Park. If you love the flatin Hyde Park however your dog can’t move with you then you will be presented with a hard determination. On the whole the outlay for major works are not included within service charges, although a few managing agents in Hyde Park require tenants to pay into a reserve fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for larger repairs or maintenance.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hyde Park