Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Crossness:

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Questions and Answers: Crossness leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have Seventy years left on my flat in Crossness. I am keen to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Crossness.

I have just started marketing my 2 bed flat in Crossness.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

It best that you 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 management companies 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 am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Crossness both have about fifty years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Crossness. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Crossness conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Crossness conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you speak with several firms including non Crossness conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be of use:

  • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What are the charges for lease extension work?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Crossness from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crossness can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Crossness levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought 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 frequent cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Crossness.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Crossness state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in the first instance.
  • Some Crossness leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can I apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Crossness conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Crossness conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Crossness residence is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case was in relation to 13 flats. The unexpired lease term was 76 years.