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Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Forest Hill leasehold conveyancing

Due to complete next month on a studio apartment in Forest Hill. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully on Monday. 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 unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Defining your legal entitlements in respect of common areas in the building.E.G., does the lease permit a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Forest Hill please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Forest Hill

    • I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Forest Hill both have approximately forty five years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    There are plenty of short leases in Forest Hill. The lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders may be reluctant to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this area

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the premises would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Forest Hill leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor in advance.
  • A minority of Forest Hill leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 75 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • Completion in due on our sale of a £400000 apartment in Forest Hill next week. The managing agents has quoted £396 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Forest Hill?

    Forest Hill conveyancing on leasehold apartments normally involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have little choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    Having spent years of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Forest Hill. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    in cases where there is a absentee landlord or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal 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 the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 61.81 years.

    Are there frequently found defects that you encounter in leases for Forest Hill properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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

    You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Forest Hill