Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Bulls Cross:

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Top Five Questions relating to Bulls Cross leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Bulls Cross. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Bulls Cross - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Bulls Cross. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bulls Cross should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions) For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Bulls Cross please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Bulls Cross

    • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Bulls Cross.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a quarterly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    The sensible thing to do is 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 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    I work for a busy estate agent office in Bulls Cross where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Bulls Cross conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease 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 can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    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.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Bulls Cross from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bulls Cross can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
    • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Bulls Cross levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Bulls Cross.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Bulls Cross leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Should you fail to have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Bulls Cross leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a Bulls Cross conveyancing transaction. If a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Bulls Cross. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Bulls Cross 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 related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 81.79 years.