Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Belmont:

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Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Belmont

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Belmont. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Belmont should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • 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 sinking fund?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Belmont please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Belmont

    • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Belmont.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

    It best that you clear 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

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

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Belmont conveyancing firm) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Belmont conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be of use:

    • How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Belmont with the intention of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Belmont can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Belmont state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer first.
  • Some Belmont leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing 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 settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £275000 maisonette in Belmont on Tuesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Belmont?

    Belmont conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually requires the purchaser’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Belmont. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to assess the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Belmont residence is 197 Byron Road in March 2013. In relation to the value of the extended lease the tribunal concluded that the appropriate premium should be £19237 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 70.92 years.