Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Burnt Oak

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

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Burnt Oak

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Burnt Oak. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Burnt Oak - 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 am intending to let out my leasehold apartment in Burnt Oak. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

A lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in Burnt Oak do not prevent strict prohibition on subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I work for a long established estate agency in Burnt Oak where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Burnt Oak conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 advice for leasehold conveyancing in Burnt Oak from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Burnt Oak can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Burnt Oak levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Burnt Oak.
  • Some Burnt Oak leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Burnt Oak home move. Where a reissued share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Having spent years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Burnt Oak. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    if there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Burnt Oak residence is 20 Orchard Court Stonegrove in June 2009. The tribunal decided that a premium of £11,040 should be payable for the new lease This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 71.55 years.

    Are there frequently found defects that you see in leases for Burnt Oak properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Burnt Oak is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You will encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Barclays , Leeds Building Society, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Burnt Oak