Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Edgware

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Common questions relating to Edgware leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my lease in Edgware. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Edgware.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Edgware. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The total extent of the premises. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a loft or cellar if applicable.
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Are pets allowed in the flat?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Edgware please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Edgware

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Edgware. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Edgware who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

    First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Edgware conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Edgware both have in the region of 50 years left on the leases. Will this present a problem?

    There are plenty of short leases in Edgware. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Edgware with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Edgware 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 needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Edgware leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
  • Some Edgware leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Edgware conveyancing transaction. Where a new share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • Having spent months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Edgware. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or where 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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Edgware premises is Ground Floor Maisonette 17 Milton Road in January 2014. The Tribunal determined the premium payable by the Applicant to the should be £13,299 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71.73 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Edgware