Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in London Colney:

Get a Quote

Looking for a solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in London Colney on your lender’s panel? Use our search tool to find approved local London Colney conveyancing lawyers or national solicitors on your lender’s panel .

Sample questions relating to London Colney leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in London Colney. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in London Colney - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in London Colney both have approximately fifty years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in London Colney. The lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a reputable estate agent office in London Colney where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local London Colney conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a London Colney conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a London Colney conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non London Colney conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

  • Can they put you in touch with client in London Colney who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in London Colney from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in London Colney can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in London Colney state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a London Colney conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • London Colney Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Queries Prior to buying

      What is the yearly maintenance fee and ground rent? Does the lease include onerous restrictions? If a London Colney lease has fewer than 80 years it will affect the marketability of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are happy with the length of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth finding out what this would cost. For most London Colneylease extensions you would need to own the property for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in London Colney