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Questions and Answers: Elm Park leasehold conveyancing

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Elm Park. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Elm Park please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Elm Park

    • I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of flats in Elm Park which have about 50 years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    There are plenty of short leases in Elm Park. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

    I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Elm Park where we see a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Elm Park conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    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 purchaser.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Elm Park with the intention of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Elm Park can be reduced if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Elm Park leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Should you dont have the consents to hand do not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay 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 are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Elm Park home move. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I am the proprietor of a two-bedroom flat in Elm Park. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the sum due for a lease extension?

    Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Elm Park conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Elm Park premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 57.5 years.

    What are the frequently found defects that you witness in leases for Elm Park properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Elm Park is not unique. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Lloyds TSB Bank, Barnsley Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Elm Park