Recently asked questions relating to Forest Hill leasehold conveyancing
Planning to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Forest Hill. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully next week. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill should include some of the following:
- The physical extent of the property. This will be the flat itself but might include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Forest Hill. Conveyancing solicitors have are soon to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Forest Hill are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Forest Hill so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Forest Hill conveyancing practitioner and check that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.
My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Forest Hill. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Forest Hill who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?
First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Forest Hill conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Forest Hill. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
In a situation 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. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 long established estate agent office in Forest Hill where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Forest Hill conveyancing firms. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to 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 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.
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.
After months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Forest Hill. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension case for a Forest Hill residence is Flat 1 40-42 Ewelme Road in August 2012. the Tribunal assessed the premium for the lease extension in the sum of £11,800 This case affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 61.81 years.
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