Common questions relating to Charing Cross leasehold conveyancing
I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in Charing Cross. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?
If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Charing Cross.
I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Charing Cross which have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are plenty of short leases in Charing Cross. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Charing Cross where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Charing Cross conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 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 sale.
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.
We expect to complete the sale of our £125000 flat in Charing Cross in 8 days. The freeholder has quoted £360 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Charing Cross?
For the majority of leasehold sales in Charing Cross conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
- Answering conveyancing due diligence enquiries
- Where consent is required before sale in Charing Cross
- Supplying insurance information
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Charing Cross. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Charing Cross residence is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 73.26 years.
What makes a Charing Cross lease problematic?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Charing Cross. All leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
- A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
- A duty to insure the building
- A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
- Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Birmingham Midshires, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.
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