Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere:

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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Belvedere, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Belvedere leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am intending to rent out my leasehold apartment in Belvedere. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Is permission from the freeholder required?

Even though your previous Belvedere conveyancing solicitor is no longer available you can check your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain consent from your landlord or some other party in advance of subletting. The net result is you not allowed to sublet in the absence of prior consent. The consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Looking forward to complete next month on a garden flat in Belvedere. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises 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 For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Belvedere please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Belvedere

    • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement apartment in Belvedere.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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 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.

    I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Belvedere. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Belvedere are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Belvedere in which case you should be looking for a Belvedere conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.

    I work for a long established estate agent office in Belvedere where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Belvedere conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.

    We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Belvedere. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension case 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 was in relation to 13 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 76 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Belvedere