Recently asked questions relating to Bexleyheath leasehold conveyancing
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the remaining lease term.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Bexleyheath - 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 only have 68 years left on my lease in Bexleyheath. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?
On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Bexleyheath.
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Bexleyheath. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Bexleyheath are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Bexleyheath in which case you should be shopping around for a Bexleyheath conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor will report to you on the legal implications.
I am looking at a couple of apartments in Bexleyheath which have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. should I be concerned?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Bexleyheath is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Bexleyheath conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.
Following months of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Bexleyheath. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Bexleyheath conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Bexleyheath residence 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 the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76 years.
In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath what are the most common lease problems?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Bexleyheath. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
- A duty to insure the building
- 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
A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Coventry Building Society, and Clydesdale all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.
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