Leasehold Conveyancing in Angel - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Angel, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Angel leasehold conveyancing

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Angel.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

It best that you discharge the invoice 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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.

I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Angel both have approximately forty five years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Angel. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a long established estate agency in Angel where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Angel conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 purchaser.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Angel with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Angel can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Angel charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Angel.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Angel state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • A minority of Angel leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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 financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Angel conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can a leaseholder make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Angel conveyancing firm to assist?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the price.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Angel flat is 29 Woodstock Road in April 2014. the Tribunal determined that the premiums to be paid into court in respect of the purchase of the freehold registered at HMLR under Title N0.SY3997 should be £7,217. This case affected 4 flats. The unexpired lease term was 98 years.

    What makes a Angel lease unmortgageable?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Angel. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the property
    • 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 problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to withdraw.