Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Eel Pie Island

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Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Eel Pie Island, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Eel Pie Island conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Eel Pie Island leasehold conveyancing

There are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Eel Pie Island. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent may be helpful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Eel Pie Island.

I've found a house that seems to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since 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 Eel Pie Island. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?

The majority of houses in Eel Pie Island are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Eel Pie Island in which case you should be looking for a Eel Pie Island conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority 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 will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Eel Pie Island both have approximately 50 years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

A lease is a right to use the property for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the value of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Eel Pie Island with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Eel Pie Island can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Eel Pie Island charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Eel Pie Island.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Eel Pie Island leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
  • A minority of Eel Pie Island leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Eel Pie Island home move. Where a new share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £500000 apartment in Eel Pie Island in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £372 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Eel Pie Island?

    Eel Pie Island conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the purchaser’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer these enquiries most will be content to do so. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

    After months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Eel Pie Island. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Eel Pie Island conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Eel Pie Island premises is Ground Floor Flat 91 Bath Road in May 2009. in a case where the freeholder could not be traced, the Brentford County Court ordered that the Lease be surrendered in return for the grant of a new lease of the Premises at a premium determined by the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal. The tribunal concluded that the price payable by the Applicant for the new lease of the premises be £15,900 This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.45 years.