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

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

Coney Hall leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Looking forward to exchange soon on a basement flat in Coney Hall. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • 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 rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • 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 included in your report on your leasehold property in Coney Hall please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Coney Hall

    • I’m about to sell my garden flat in Coney Hall.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay 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.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Coney Hall. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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).

    I am employed by a reputable estate agent office in Coney Hall where we see a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Coney Hall conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Coney Hall with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Coney Hall can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Coney Hall charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Coney Hall.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Coney Hall conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I am the proprietor of a basement flat in Coney Hall. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

    if there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Coney Hall premises is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 50.57 years.