Sample questions relating to Kings Heath leasehold conveyancing
There are only Sixty One years left on my flat in Kings Heath. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Kings Heath.
Back In 2005, I bought a leasehold flat in Kings Heath. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing solicitor in Kings Heath who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?
First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Kings Heath conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. 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 Kings Heath both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Kings Heath where we see a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Kings Heath conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is 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 has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is 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 £475000 maisonette in Kings Heath next week. The management company has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Kings Heath?
For the majority of leasehold sales in Kings Heath conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
- Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
- Where consent is required before sale in Kings Heath
- Supplying insurance information
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Kings Heath Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing
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What restrictions exist in the Kings Heath Lease?
Plenty Kings Heath leasehold properties will have a service bill for the upkeep of the building invoiced by the landlord. Should you buy the property you will have to pay this contribution, normally in instalments accross the year. This may differ from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for large purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent for you to pay yearly, normally this is not a large amount, say approximately £50-£100 but you should to check it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.
Its a good idea to discover as much as you can about the managing agents as they can either make your living at the property much simpler or problematic. As the owner of a leasehold property you are often at the mercy of the managing agents both financially and when it comes to day to day issues like the cleanliness of the common parts. Ask other tenants whether they are happy with their management. In conclusion, investigate as to the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and precisely how they are spending the funds.
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