Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead:

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Recently asked questions relating to Hampstead leasehold conveyancing

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in Hampstead.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Hampstead where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Hampstead conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as 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 buyer 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 needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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 Hampstead from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead 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 needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • The majority freeholders or Management Companies in Hampstead charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Hampstead state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • A minority of Hampstead leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete the sale of our £225000 flat in Hampstead on Monday in a week. The management company has quoted £408 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Hampstead?

    Hampstead conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes more often than not requires the buyer’s lawyer sending questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be content to do so. They may invoice a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the invoice is technically not due. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.

    We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Hampstead. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Where there is a absentee landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Hampstead premises is Raised Ground Floor Flat 20 Fitzjohns Avenue in July 2014. the Tribunal decided that the premiums to be paid for new leases in respect of the Raised Ground Floor Flat and the First Floor Flat were to be calculated as: Raised Ground Floor: £765,175.14 First Floor: £601,617.77 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 16.83 and 16.43.

    Are there frequently found problems that you come across in leases for Hampstead properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead. All leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You will encounter 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. Santander, Chelsea Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hampstead