I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% 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 have just started marketing my basement flat in Belvedere.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you clear the service charge 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 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 own a leasehold house in Belvedere. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Belvedere who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Belvedere conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £475000 flat in Belvedere next Tuesday . The landlords agents has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Belvedere?

Belvedere conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to address these enquiries the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it exceeds £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such matters? Can you recommend a Belvedere conveyancing firm to assist?

Absolutely. We are happy to 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 property 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 related to 13 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 76 years.

In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere what are the most common lease problems?

Leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions 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 purchaser to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Belvedere