Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Highams Park:

Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Highams Park, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Highams Park leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Highams Park. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage organised. 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 Highams Park who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Highams Park conveyancing firm to do this as it can be done on-line for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Highams Park which have approximately forty five years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Highams Park is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and banks, 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 property 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 property 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 Highams Park conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed 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.

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Highams Park. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?

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 Highams Park from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Highams Park can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers representatives.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Highams Park levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. 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 common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Highams Park.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Highams Park state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you dont have the paperwork in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer first.
  • Some Highams Park leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a new share certificate is often a lengthy formality and frustrates many a Highams Park home move. Where a new share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

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

    in cases where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Highams Park property is 48 Greenleaf Road in December 2009. the lessees sought to exercise their right to purchase the freehold from the landlord by way of collective enfranchisement in accordance with the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993.The landlord could not be found.A vesting order was granted from the Bow County Court on 10 September 2007 (Claim No: 8BO04141). The Tribunal held that the premium to be paid was £3,850 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 104 years.

    What makes a Highams Park lease defective?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Highams Park is not unique. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain clauses are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, Leeds Building Society, and Aldermore 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 provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Highams Park