Questions and Answers: Kenley leasehold conveyancing
Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Kenley. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Kenley 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 not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Kenley.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?
It best that you pay the invoice 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 managing agents 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.
I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Kenley which have about forty five years left on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?
A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to extend the lease. For this reason it is advisable to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease enfranchisement can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Kenley where we see a number of flat sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Kenley conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 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 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.
Following months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Kenley. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
if there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the amount due.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Kenley residence is The Woodlands 95 Purley Park Road in April 2009. The Tribunals own valuation produced the figure of £37,912. This case affected 6 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 78.32 years.
What makes a Kenley lease unmortgageable?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Kenley. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain sections are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:
- A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the building
- A duty to insure the building
- Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
- Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
You could 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, Barnsley Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express conveyancing instructions 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 pull out.
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