Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Harmondsworth

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Sample questions relating to Harmondsworth leasehold conveyancing

I have recently realised that I have 72 years left on my lease in Harmondsworth. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Harmondsworth.

I have just appointed agents to market my ground floor apartment in Harmondsworth.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is 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 management companies 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 own a leasehold flat in Harmondsworth. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in Harmondsworth who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Harmondsworth conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

What advice can you give us when it comes to appointing a Harmondsworth conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

If you are instructing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Harmondsworth conveyancing firm) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non Harmondsworth conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What are the legal fees for lease extension conveyancing?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Harmondsworth from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Harmondsworth can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers representatives.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Harmondsworth charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Harmondsworth.
  • Some Harmondsworth leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet 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 are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Harmondsworth home move. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Harmondsworth. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to assess the amount due.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Harmondsworth property 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 remaining number of years on the lease was 69 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Harmondsworth