Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Bounds Green conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Sample questions relating to Bounds Green leasehold conveyancing

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Bounds Green.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 management companies 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears 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 am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Bounds Green. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Bounds Green ?

Most houses in Bounds Green are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Bounds Green in which case you should be shopping around for a Bounds Green 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 leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold flat in Bounds Green. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Bounds Green who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a Bounds Green conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Bounds Green both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Bounds Green is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the value of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. 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 property 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 property 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 Bounds Green 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green can be avoided if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Bounds Green charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought 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 common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Bounds Green.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Bounds Green state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Bounds Green conveyancing firm to help?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Bounds Green property 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 affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 81.79 years.