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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Becontree, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Birmingham Midshires or NatWest be sure to find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Becontree conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Becontree leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Becontree. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Becontree - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my flat in Becontree. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be helpful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Becontree.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Becontree where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Becontree conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

Provided that 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 can avoid having to wait 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 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Becontree conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Becontree 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 several firms including non Becontree conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What are the costs for lease extension work?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Becontree from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Becontree can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
    • A minority of Becontree leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Becontree conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

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

    Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Becontree conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Becontree premises is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 61.36 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Becontree