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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cheam, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Cheam conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Sample questions relating to Cheam leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to complete next month on a basement flat in Cheam. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cheam should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to the communal areas in the block.For example, does the lease provide for a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Cheam please ask your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in Cheam

    • I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Cheam. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Cheam are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Cheam in which case you should be shopping around for a Cheam conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should report to you on the legal implications.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Cheam. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

    If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cheam with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Cheam can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Cheam state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor first.
  • Some Cheam leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and frustrates many a Cheam home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without getting anywhere. Can a leaseholder apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Cheam conveyancing firm to help?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Cheam property is 33 The Maisonettes Alberta Avenue in June 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premium payable for the grant of a new lease be the sum of £20,680 (Twenty Thousand six hundred and eighty pounds). This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.43 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cheam what are the most common lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Cheam. Most leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Coventry Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cheam