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

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

Recently asked questions relating to Kingsbury leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Kingsbury - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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.

Planning to exchange soon on a basement flat in Kingsbury. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury should include some of the following:

  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • 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
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • 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
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Kingsbury please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Kingsbury

    • I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in Kingsbury which have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in Kingsbury is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat 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 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 Kingsbury 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 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 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.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • Many freeholders or managing agents in Kingsbury levy fees 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 on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Kingsbury.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Kingsbury leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer first.
  • A minority of Kingsbury leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unresolved.

    • Completion in due on our sale of a £200000 apartment in Kingsbury next Wednesday . The management company has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Kingsbury?

    Kingsbury conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the buyer’s lawyer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be content to do so. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The management information fee required by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

    Notwithstanding our best efforts, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Kingsbury. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Kingsbury conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Kingsbury residence is 27B Hillside in February 2010. the resulting premium, all other aspects of the valuation having been agreed between the parties was set at £8,250 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 70.25 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Kingsbury