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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hanwell, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, RBS or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Hanwell conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Hanwell leasehold conveyancing

There are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Hanwell. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be helpful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hanwell.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my ground floor apartment in Hanwell.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

Back In 2008, I bought a leasehold flat in Hanwell. Conveyancing and Aldermore mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in Hanwell who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Hanwell conveyancing solicitor to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hanwell from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hanwell can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Hanwell charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hanwell.
  • Some Hanwell leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.
  • You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to double-check by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • Following months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Hanwell. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Hanwell flat is 6 Jessamine Road in August 2013. The Tribunals valuation (as annexed to the decision) calculated the amount payable as £18,355 for the freehold reversion This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 72.39 years.

    What makes a Hanwell lease defective?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Hanwell is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Nationwide Building Society, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express 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, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hanwell