Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Clapham

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

Clapham leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

There are only Seventy years left on my lease in Clapham. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Clapham.

Expecting to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Clapham. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Clapham please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Clapham

    • I work for a busy estate agent office in Clapham where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Clapham conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser 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 at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Clapham with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Clapham can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Clapham charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Clapham.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Clapham leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Clapham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. 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. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £500000 flat in Clapham in seven days. The landlords agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Clapham?

    Clapham conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the buyer’s solicitor submitting enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Clapham conveyancing firm to assist?

    You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a Clapham conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Clapham premises is 23 Chelsham Road in May 2013. the Tribunal found that the sum of £13,870.00 was payable for the freehold following a vestig order having been granted by Swansea County Court dated 1st March 2013 This case was in relation to 3 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 99 years.