Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Bedford Park:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Bedford Park, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, RBS or Nationwide be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Bedford Park

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Bedford Park. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bedford Park should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Bedford Park please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Bedford Park

    • I have just started marketing my basement apartment in Bedford Park.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Bedford Park both have about fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There are plenty of short leases in Bedford Park. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the marketability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

    I've recently bought a leasehold property in Bedford Park. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

    If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bedford Park from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bedford Park can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Bedford Park leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Bedford Park conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach 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 left on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Bedford Park conveyancing firm to represent me?

    in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Bedford Park property is 169 Southfield Road in September 2013. the tribunal decided that the premium to be paid in respect of the collective enfranchisement should be £51,203 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The unexpired term was 64.64 years.