Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Alperton:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Alperton, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Alperton leasehold conveyancing

I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Alperton.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Alperton. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage organised. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Alperton who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Alperton conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Alperton both have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Alperton where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Alperton conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate 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 commence 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 sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 buyer.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Alperton with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Alperton can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Alperton levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Alperton.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Alperton home move. Where a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I am the proprietor of a basement flat in Alperton. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Alperton conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Alperton premises is 99 Connell Crescent in May 2013. the Tribunal held that the relevant sum for the purposes of the lease extension should be £72,566 to be paid by the leaseholder This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 28.42 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Alperton