Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Canary Wharf conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Canary Wharf leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and most are in Canary Wharf - 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.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Canary Wharf conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Canary Wharf conveyancing practice) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Canary Wharf conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

    • Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Canary Wharf charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf.
  • Some Canary Wharf leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present 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. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and slows down many a Canary Wharf conveyancing deal. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £125000 maisonette in Canary Wharf in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Canary Wharf?

    Canary Wharf conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    After months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Canary Wharf. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Canary Wharf premises is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The unexpired lease term was 101.61 years.

    What makes a Canary Wharf lease unmortgageable?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Canary Wharf is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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 have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. HSBC Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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 provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Canary Wharf