Gants Hill leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Gants Hill. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.
Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Gants Hill - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.
Back In 2003, I bought a leasehold house in Gants Hill. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage are in place. 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 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Gants Hill who previously acted has now retired.Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Gants Hill conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, 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 attracted to a two maisonettes in Gants Hill both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the lease term. Will this present a problem?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders may be unwilling to lend money on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area
I work for a busy estate agency in Gants Hill where we have experienced a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Gants Hill conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has been the owner 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. This means 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 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 buyer.
All being well we will complete the disposal of our £225000 garden flat in Gants Hill in nine days. The landlords agents has quoted £300 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Gants Hill?
For the majority of leasehold sales in Gants Hill conveyancing will involve, questions about the management of a building inevitably needing to be answered directly by the freeholder or its agent, this includes :
- Completing conveyancing due diligence questions
- Where consent is required before sale in Gants Hill
- Copies of the building insurance and schedule
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Following months of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Gants Hill. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the premium.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Gants Hill residence is 59 & 59a Clarendon Gardens in February 2014. The Tribunals valuation for the freehold was £30,073.00 The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 65 and 61.
Other Topics