I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in De Beauvoir Town. Before I set the wheels in motion I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in De Beauvoir Town - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in De Beauvoir Town which have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Will this present a problem?

There are plenty of short leases in De Beauvoir Town. The lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in De Beauvoir Town. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in De Beauvoir Town with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in De Beauvoir Town can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in De Beauvoir Town charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in De Beauvoir Town.

If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? De Beauvoir Town leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in advance.

A minority of De Beauvoir Town leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a De Beauvoir Town conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

Completion in due on the sale of our £125000 apartment in De Beauvoir Town next Monday . The freeholder has quoted £396 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in De Beauvoir Town?

De Beauvoir Town conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates fees being levied by managing agents :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in De Beauvoir Town
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for De Beauvoir Town leasehold premises is £350. For De Beauvoir Town conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

Following years of dialogue we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in De Beauvoir Town. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a De Beauvoir Town conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a De Beauvoir Town residence is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 80.5 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in De Beauvoir Town