Leasehold Conveyancing in Foots Cray - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Foots Cray, 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 Foots Cray leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Foots Cray. I need to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Foots Cray.

Planning to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Foots Cray. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or working from home
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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. For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Foots Cray please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Foots Cray

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Foots Cray. Conveyancing and Bank of Ireland mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Foots Cray who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

    The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Foots Cray conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

    I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Foots Cray where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Foots Cray conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can initiate 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 kick-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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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.

    My wife and I have hit a brick wall in negotiating a lease extension in Foots Cray. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Foots Cray conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Foots Cray property is 103a Footscray Road in January 2014. The tribunal determines that the premium payable for the extended lease should be £34,500 according to the expert witness valuation calculation This case was in relation to 1 flat.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Foots Cray what are the most common lease problems?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Foots Cray. Most 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 parts of the building
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Virgin Money, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.