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

Top Five Questions relating to Grange Park leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Grange Park. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Grange Park - 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.

I want to sublet my leasehold flat in Grange Park. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask her. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your previous Grange Park conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if you are permitted to let out the premises. The accepted inference is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent must not not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Grange Park.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

It best that you discharge 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 managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I work for a reputable estate agent office in Grange Park where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Grange Park conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as 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. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Grange Park with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Grange Park can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Grange Park charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Grange Park.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Grange Park leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such works. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
  • Some Grange Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to 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 able to meet the yearly 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming process and slows down many a Grange Park home move. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Grange Park conveyancing firm to represent me?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder 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 calculate the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Grange Park property is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 81.79 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Grange Park