Sample questions relating to Dollis Hill leasehold conveyancing
I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Dollis Hill. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.
Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Dollis Hill - 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.
My partner and I may need to rent out our Dollis Hill garden flat for a while due to a new job. We used a Dollis Hill conveyancing practice in 2001 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?
The lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the leaseholder; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain caveats. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is permitted. Most leases in Dollis Hill do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually a basic requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Dollis Hill.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge 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 am employed by a long established estate agent office in Dollis Hill where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Dollis Hill conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have 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 at the same time as 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 purchaser.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £200000 maisonette in Dollis Hill on Monday in a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Dollis Hill?
Dollis Hill conveyancing on leasehold flats often involves the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be content to assist. They are entitled charge a reasonable charge for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.
Despite our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Dollis Hill. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Dollis Hill conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Dollis Hill flat is 12 Deacon Road in November 2012. the premium to be paid for the grant of the new lease was the sum of £31 ,635.00 (Thirty-One thousand and six hundred and thirty-five Pounds). The matter was then returned to the Willesden County Court for the completion of the grant of the new lease in substitution for the existing lease on payment into court the sum of £31,635.00 less the sum of £2,890.20 assessed costs incurred by the leaseholder. Thus the net sum of £28,744.80 was to be paid into court. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 61.98 years.
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