Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Cheam:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Cheam, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Cheam leasehold conveyancing

I would like to sublet my leasehold flat in Cheam. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your last Cheam conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are silent, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you need to obtain permission from your landlord or some other party before subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably turned down. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I’m about to sell my garden flat in Cheam.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer until 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 hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Cheam. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Cheam are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help 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 have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Cheam where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Cheam conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

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 buyer.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Cheam from the point of view of speeding up 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 put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Cheam state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the consents in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
  • A minority of Cheam leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Cheam conveyancing deal. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Cheam. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Cheam conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Cheam premises 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 affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.43 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cheam