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Leasehold conveyancing in Feltham is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Feltham and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Recently asked questions relating to Feltham leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Feltham. Before I set the wheels in motion I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Feltham - 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.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Feltham. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Feltham ?

The majority of houses in Feltham are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Feltham so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Feltham conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a maintenance charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Feltham which have in the region of forty five years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Feltham is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most 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 a residence 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 Feltham 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 They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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 Feltham from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Feltham can be bypassed where you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Feltham leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor first.
  • A minority of Feltham leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to 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 reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Feltham home move. Where a reissued share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the sale of our £400000 garden flat in Feltham in just under a week. The management company has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Feltham?

    Feltham conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be willing to do so. They are at liberty invoice a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is £350, in some transactions it is above £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    I inherited a basement flat in Feltham. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium payable for a lease extension?

    if there is a missing landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to arrive at the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Feltham premises is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 82.93 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Feltham