Leasehold Conveyancing in East Bedfont - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Sample questions relating to East Bedfont leasehold conveyancing

Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in East Bedfont. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but may include a roof space or basement if applicable.
  • Defining your rights in relation to the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease include a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You should be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions) For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in East Bedfont please enquire of your lawyer in advance of your conveyancing in East Bedfont

    • I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in East Bedfont.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

    Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge 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 unless 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    I've recently bought a leasehold property in East Bedfont. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    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. 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 am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in East Bedfont where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local East Bedfont conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

    Provided that 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

    An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in East Bedfont can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? East Bedfont leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you dont have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • Some East Bedfont leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a East Bedfont conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a East Bedfont conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a East Bedfont flat is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 82.93 years.