Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Emerson Park:

Get a Quote

While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Emerson 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

Common questions relating to Emerson Park leasehold conveyancing

Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Emerson Park. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What options are open to you 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 Emerson Park please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Emerson Park

    • I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Emerson Park which have in the region of fifty years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

    A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you get professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

    Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Emerson Park. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

    If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

    I work for a busy estate agent office in Emerson Park where we see a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have received inconsistent advice from local Emerson Park conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with 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 offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Emerson Park conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Emerson Park conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Emerson Park conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be helpful:

    • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Emerson Park in the last 12 months?

    • I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Emerson Park. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Where there is a missing 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 Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Emerson Park property 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 the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 57.5 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Emerson Park