Leasehold Conveyancing in Hornchurch - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Hornchurch, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Clydesdale , Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide be sure to choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Hornchurch conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Common questions relating to Hornchurch leasehold conveyancing

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Hornchurch. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Hornchurch - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.

I’m about to sell my ground floor apartment in Hornchurch.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

The sensible thing to do is clear 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 unless 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.

Back In 2007, I bought a leasehold house in Hornchurch. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Hornchurch who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Hornchurch conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Hornchurch. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation 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. However, 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 be sure 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).

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Hornchurch from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hornchurch can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Hornchurch charge for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Hornchurch.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. 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 ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy formality and delays many a Hornchurch conveyancing transaction. If a duplicate share certificate is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • My wife and I have hit a brick wall in negotiating a lease extension in Hornchurch. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Hornchurch conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Hornchurch property is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 57.5 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Hornchurch