Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Enfield Highway

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Enfield Highway - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Enfield Highway. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Enfield Highway who previously acted has long since retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Enfield Highway conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Enfield Highway both have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Enfield Highway is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of property with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Enfield Highway conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Enfield Highway can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • A minority of Enfield Highway leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet the yearly 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 lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Enfield Highway conveyancing transaction. If a new share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should verify this via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £400000 maisonette in Enfield Highway in just under a week. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Enfield Highway?

    Enfield Highway conveyancing on leasehold apartments usually necessitates the buyer’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in negotiating a lease extension in Enfield Highway. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Enfield Highway conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold decision for a Enfield Highway flat is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 80.01 years.