Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Chadwell Heath

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Chadwell Heath leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and almost all are in Chadwell Heath - 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’m about to sell my garden apartment in Chadwell Heath.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

I work for a busy estate agency in Chadwell Heath where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Chadwell Heath conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate 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 need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 purchaser.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • 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? Chadwell Heath leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. If you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Chadwell Heath conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Chadwell Heath. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Chadwell Heath conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Chadwell Heath residence is 49 Aldborough Road South in July 2012. The Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of the new lease was £13,925 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 61.36 years.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath what are the most common lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Chadwell Heath is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You could 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. HSBC Bank, The Mortgage Works, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed 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, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Chadwell Heath