I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Eastcote. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Eastcote are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Eastcote so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Eastcote conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Eastcote conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Eastcote conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Eastcote conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?

What are the legal fees for lease extension work?

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Eastcote from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

• A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eastcote can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
• Many landlords or Management Companies in Eastcote levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought 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 cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Eastcote.

A minority of Eastcote leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 purchasers or their lawyers.

If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.

You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this via your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is under 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the disposal of our £375000 maisonette in Eastcote in 5 days. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Eastcote?

For most leasehold sales in Eastcote conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :

• Addressing pre-exchange enquiries
• Where consent is required before sale in Eastcote
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Eastcote leasehold premises is £350. For Eastcote 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 answers.

I own a garden flat in Eastcote. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum payable for a lease extension?

Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the amount due.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Eastcote property is Flat 72 Queens Walk in January 2013. The Tribunals calculated the premium payable to be £22,090. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 53.26 years.

What makes a Eastcote lease unacceptable for security purposes?

Leasehold conveyancing in Eastcote is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Eastcote