Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill:

Get a Quote

Require a conveyancing quote from a solicitor for leasehold conveyancing in Forest Hill on your lender’s panel? Use our search tool to find approved local Forest Hill conveyancing lawyers or nationwide solicitors on your lender’s panel .

Forest Hill leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Forest Hill. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?

If you qualify, 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Forest Hill.

Looking forward to complete next month on a leasehold property in Forest Hill. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report 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 length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The total extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might include a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
  • 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
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • 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.
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Forest Hill please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Forest Hill

    • I’m about to sell my ground floor flat in Forest Hill.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a half-yearly maintenance charge demand – what should I do?

    It best that you pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    I own a leasehold house in Forest Hill. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Forest Hill who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

    First contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Forest Hill conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website 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 work for a reputable estate agent office in Forest Hill where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Forest Hill conveyancing solicitors. Can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 trying to purchase the freehold in Forest Hill. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Forest Hill premises 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 related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 61.81 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Forest Hill