Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Elm Park:

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

Top Five Questions relating to Elm Park leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Elm Park. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Elm Park - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Elm Park.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Elm Park which have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

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 results in it becoming more expensive to extend the lease. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Elm Park where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Elm Park conveyancing solicitors. Please can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. 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.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Elm Park with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Elm Park can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in Elm Park charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Elm Park.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Elm Park state that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord approving such alterations. Should you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in the first instance.
  • A minority of Elm Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

    • After years of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Elm Park. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to assess the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Elm Park residence 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 57.5 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Elm Park