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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Arnos Grove, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Arnos Grove leasehold conveyancing

I am looking at a two apartments in Arnos Grove which have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Arnos Grove is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, leases with less than 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Arnos Grove conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Arnos Grove where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Arnos Grove conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension process 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Arnos Grove conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Arnos Grove conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Arnos Grove 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 helpful:

  • Can they put you in touch with client in Arnos Grove who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the charges for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Arnos Grove with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Arnos Grove 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 documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Arnos Grove levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Arnos Grove.
  • A minority of Arnos Grove leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 solicitors.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and slows down many a Arnos Grove conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Completion in due on the disposal of our £450000 garden flat in Arnos Grove in 10 days. The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Arnos Grove?

    Arnos Grove conveyancing on leasehold flats usually requires the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be willing to do so. They are entitled levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Arnos Grove conveyancing firm to assist?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Arnos Grove conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Arnos Grove property is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 70.31 years.