Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Belvedere - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

I am attracted to a two flats in Belvedere both have in the region of fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the value 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 increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Belvedere where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Belvedere conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Belvedere conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Belvedere 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 talk with two or three firms including non Belvedere conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

• If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?

I inherited a ground-floor 1950’s flat in Belvedere. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum payable for a lease extension?

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

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Belvedere flat is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The unexpired term was 76 years.

What makes a Belvedere lease defective?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You could encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Britannia all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Belvedere