Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hanworth:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hanworth, you will need to appoint a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Hanworth conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Questions and Answers: Hanworth leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 72 years left on my lease in Hanworth. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Hanworth.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Hanworth. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they report fully next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Hanworth please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Hanworth

    • I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Hanworth. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Hanworth are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in Hanworth in which case you should be shopping around for a Hanworth 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 number of years remaining. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

    Back In 2009, I bought a leasehold flat in Hanworth. Conveyancing and Lloyds TSB Bank mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Hanworth who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Hanworth conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. You should note that in any event, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    Can you offer any advice when it comes to finding a Hanworth conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Hanworth conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you speak with two or three firms including non Hanworth conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

    • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can one apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Hanworth conveyancing firm to help?

    if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hanworth property is 147 Redford Close in June 2012. The Tribunal determined the lease extension premium to be at £4,200 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 82.93 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hanworth