Leasehold Conveyancing in Bounds Green - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Bounds Green leasehold conveyancing

I only have 62 years unexpired on my lease in Bounds Green. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Bounds Green.

I've found a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Bounds Green. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Bounds Green are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Bounds Green so you should seriously consider looking for a Bounds Green conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Bounds Green both have approximately fifty years left on the leases. should I be concerned?

A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As a lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

I work for a long established estate agent office in Bounds Green where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Bounds Green conveyancing solicitors. 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 can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Bounds Green levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Bounds Green leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a basement flat in Bounds Green. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for a lease extension?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Bounds Green flat is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 81.79 years.