My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Cubitt Town. Conveyancing and The Royal Bank of Scotland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing practitioner in Cubitt Town who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Cubitt Town conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Cubitt Town both have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Cubitt Town. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Cubitt Town where we see a few leasehold sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Cubitt Town conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Cubitt Town conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Cubitt Town conveyancing firm) it is most important that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non Cubitt Town conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

• How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm conducted in Cubitt Town in the last 12 months?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Cubitt Town with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cubitt Town can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or Management Companies in Cubitt Town levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Cubitt Town.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Cubitt Town state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder 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 an ongoing 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 purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage 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.

Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in seeking a lease extension in Cubitt Town. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to determine the price payable.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Cubitt Town property is 12, 14 & 16 Hull Close in May 2010. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the acquisition of the freehold to the subject premises was the sum of £18,300 This case affected 3 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 101.61 years.

Cubitt Town Leasehold Conveyancing - A selection of Questions you should ask before buying

This information is helpful as a) areas may cause problems in the block as the communal areas may begin to deteriorate if maintenance are not paid for b) if the leasehold owners have a dispute with the running of the building you will wish to know about it