Recently asked questions relating to Earlsfield leasehold conveyancing
Planning to complete next month on a leasehold property in Earlsfield. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Earlsfield should include some of the following:
- The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Earlsfield. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
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 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).
I work for a busy estate agency in Earlsfield where we have experienced a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local Earlsfield conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner 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 before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
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 are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Earlsfield conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Earlsfield conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Earlsfield conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:
- How familiar is the practice with lease extension legislation?
If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £375000 flat in Earlsfield next Monday . The freeholder has quoted £360 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Earlsfield?
Earlsfield conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee 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 over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to exchange contracts with the buyer.
I am the proprietor of a ground floor flat in Earlsfield. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Earlsfield conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Earlsfield residence is 35 Trewint Street in February 2012. The Tribunal arrived at a premium of £32 425 for the freehold reversion. The matter was transferred back to the court for further consideration which required the applicants pay the premium (less any assessed costs) into court after which the court would execute a transfer of the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 70.57 years.
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