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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Harlington, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Harlington conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Harlington leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Due to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Harlington. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Harlington should include some of the following:

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Do you need to have carpet in the flat or are you allowed wood flooring?
  • Will you be prohibited or prevented from having pets in the property?
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • 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 a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Harlington please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Harlington

    • I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in Harlington.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

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

    I today plan to offer on a house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a leasehold house in Harlington. Conveyancing advisers have are about to be instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Harlington are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Harlington so you should seriously consider looking for a Harlington conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Harlington. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

    If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Harlington from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Harlington can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers conveyancers.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in Harlington levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Harlington.
  • A minority of Harlington leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Harlington home move. Where a reissued share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • Having spent months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Harlington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Harlington conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Harlington premises is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Harlington