Leasehold Conveyancing in Hampton Wick - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Wick, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Frequently asked questions relating to Hampton Wick leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years unexpired on my lease in Hampton Wick. I am keen to get lease extension but my landlord is can not be found. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be useful to try and locate and to produce a report to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Hampton Wick.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Hampton Wick. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Wick should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • Whether the lease restricts you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • 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
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What options are open to you if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Hampton Wick please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Hampton Wick

    • I am employed by a long established estate agency in Hampton Wick where we have experienced a few leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given conflicting advice from local Hampton Wick conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have 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 before, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

    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 offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Hampton Wick conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Hampton Wick conveyancing practice) it is most important that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you talk with several firms including non Hampton Wick conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be useful:

    • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • How many lease extensions have they conducted in Hampton Wick in the last 12 months?

    • I inherited a basement flat in Hampton Wick. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the sum due for the purchase of the freehold?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to assess the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Hampton Wick flat is Flat D 15 Claremont Gardens in September 2013. TheTribunal determined in accordance with section48 and Schedule13 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty seven pounds (£14,187.00) This case related to 1 flat.

    What are the frequently found problems that you encounter in leases for Hampton Wick properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Hampton Wick is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair 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

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hampton Wick