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

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Leasehold conveyancing in Childs Hill is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Childs Hill and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Frequently asked questions relating to Childs Hill leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Childs Hill. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Childs Hill - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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 am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Childs Hill. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • 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?
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Childs Hill please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Childs Hill

    • I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Childs Hill.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 work for a reputable estate agency in Childs Hill where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Childs Hill conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means 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 has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is 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.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Childs Hill with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Childs Hill can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Childs Hill levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Childs Hill.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Childs Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • Some Childs Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 solicitors.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Childs Hill home move. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • We have reached the end of our tether in negotiating a lease extension in Childs Hill. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Where there is a missing landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Childs Hill residence is Flat A 372 Cricklewood Lane in January 2013. The Tribunal decided that the premium for the extended lease should be £5,750.00 and that the terms of the new lease should be those set out in annex to the decsion This case affected 1 flat.