I own a leasehold flat in Hatton. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Hatton who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to instruct a Hatton conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Hatton both have in the region of 50 years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Hatton is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Hatton conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

I work for a busy estate agency in Hatton where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local Hatton conveyancing firms. Please can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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 buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is 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 buyer.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hatton with the aim of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hatton can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Hatton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hatton.
• In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Hatton leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such alterations. Where you dont have the consents to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
• Some Hatton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to 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 financially capable of paying 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
• If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming process and delays many a Hatton conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in Hatton. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

in cases where 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 judgment on the price payable.

An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hatton flat 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 remaining number of years on the lease was 82.93 years.

What makes a Hatton lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hatton. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
• Insurance obligations
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You may have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Santander, Leeds Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

Leasehold Conveyancing in Hatton - A selection of Queries before buying

If a Hatton lease has fewer than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably need a lease extension sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the property for 24 months before you are entitled to carry out a lease extension. How many years are left on the lease?