Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Kingsbury

Get a Quote

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

Sample questions relating to Kingsbury leasehold conveyancing

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Kingsbury. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Whether the lease restricts you from subletting the property, or having a home office for business
  • 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 sinking fund?
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • 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
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? 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 have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Kingsbury.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

    The sensible thing to do is 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 tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two flats in Kingsbury which have about fifty years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    A lease is a right to use the premises for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area

    Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Kingsbury. Do I have any liability for service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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 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).

    I am employed by a reputable estate agency in Kingsbury where we have witnessed a number of flat sales derailed as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Kingsbury conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as 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.

    After months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Kingsbury. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Kingsbury flat 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired term was 70.25 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Kingsbury