Common questions relating to Charing Cross leasehold conveyancing
Planning to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Charing Cross. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Charing Cross should include some of the following:
- Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden apartment in Charing Cross.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
It best that you pay the invoice 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 managing agents 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 am employed by a reputable estate agency in Charing Cross where we see a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Charing Cross conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities 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 commence 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.
Completion in due on the sale of our £225000 maisonette in Charing Cross on Friday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Charing Cross?
Charing Cross conveyancing on leasehold apartments often necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be willing to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering 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 is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.
After months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Charing Cross. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Charing Cross conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Charing Cross premises 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 unmortgageable?
Leasehold conveyancing in Charing Cross is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. 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
- 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
A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Santander, Bank of Scotland, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.
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