Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead Garden Suburb:

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Leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead Garden Suburb is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead Garden Suburb and across next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead Garden Suburb

I would like to rent out my leasehold apartment in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for permission?

Notwithstanding that your last Hampstead Garden Suburb conveyancing solicitor is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you must seek consent via your landlord or other appropriate person before subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. The consent is not allowed to be unreasonably turned down. If the lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently been informed that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

Most houses in Hampstead Garden Suburb are freehold and not leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Hampstead Garden Suburb in which case you should be looking for a Hampstead Garden Suburb conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will appraise you on the various issues.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold flat in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Conveyancing and Platform Home Loans Ltd mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing practitioner in Hampstead Garden Suburb who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Hampstead Garden Suburb conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Hampstead Garden Suburb where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Hampstead Garden Suburb conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

Provided that 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. The benefit of this is 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 needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

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.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead Garden Suburb from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hampstead Garden Suburb can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • Some Hampstead Garden Suburb 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 put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be warry 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and delays many a Hampstead Garden Suburb home move. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • 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 conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Hampstead Garden Suburb. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to make a decision on the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hampstead Garden Suburb flat is FFF, 37 and Garage 1, Queensborough Court North Circular Road in September 2012. The Tribunal determined that the premium for the lease extension should be £67,037 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 23.66 years.