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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Carshalton, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Questions and Answers: Carshalton leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Carshalton. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Carshalton - 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 wish to sublet my leasehold apartment in Carshalton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Even though your last Carshalton conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the property. The rule is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you need to seek consent via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without prior consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

There are only 62 years left on my flat in Carshalton. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Carshalton.

What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Carshalton conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Carshalton conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Carshalton conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • If they are not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
  • How many lease extensions have they completed in Carshalton in the last twenty four months?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Carshalton with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Carshalton can be reduced where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Some Carshalton leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Carshalton home move. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • I inherited a second floor flat in Carshalton. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to make a decision on the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Carshalton property is 21 & 23 Carshalton Grove in May 2009. the Tribunal adopted the figures presented as the premiums payable by the Applicant i.e. a total of £20,750. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Carshalton