Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Hendon:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hendon, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Hendon

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years left on my flat in Hendon. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Hendon.

Planning to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Hendon. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but may incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the block.E.G., does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or hallways?
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Hendon please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Hendon

    • I work for a busy estate agency in Hendon where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Hendon conveyancing solicitors. Can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?

    Provided that 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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    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.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Hendon with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hendon can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Hendon charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Hendon.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Hendon leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and delays many a Hendon conveyancing deal. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • We have reached the end of our tether in negotiating a lease extension in Hendon. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    if there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to determine the price payable.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Hendon flat is First Floor Flat 61 Wilberforce Road in March 2014. The premium payable was £10,130 and the case was remitted back to the Willesden County Court to effect the Vesting Order (Claim No 3W103100). This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71 years.

    What makes a Hendon lease problematic?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Hendon. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • 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 encounter a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. National Westminster Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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 defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hendon