Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Cockfosters conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Questions and Answers: Cockfosters leasehold conveyancing

I am hoping to exchange soon on a garden flat in Cockfosters. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • Setting out your rights in relation to common areas in the block.For instance, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • 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
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Cockfosters please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Cockfosters

    • I’m about to sell my 2 bed flat in Cockfosters.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    I've found a house that seems to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Cockfosters. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Cockfosters are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Cockfosters so you should seriously consider looking for a Cockfosters conveyancing solicitor and check that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority 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 comes with conditions such as requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should report to you on the legal implications.

    I am employed by a long established estate agent office in Cockfosters where we have experienced a few flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Cockfosters conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    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. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with 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 Cockfosters with the purpose of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cockfosters can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Cockfosters leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. 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 resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Cockfosters conveyancing deal. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Cockfosters conveyancing firm to help?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to calculate the amount due.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Cockfosters property is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 70.31 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Cockfosters