Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton, you will need to chose a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Yorkshire Building Society or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Lower Clapton conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Lower Clapton - 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.

I would like to let out my leasehold apartment in Lower Clapton. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Notwithstanding that your previous Lower Clapton conveyancing lawyer is no longer available you can review your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the premises. The accepted inference is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is allowed. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to obtain permission from your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. The net result is that you cannot sublet in the absence of first obtaining consent. The consent must not not be unreasonably withheld. If the lease does not allow you to sublet you should ask your landlord if they are willing to waive this restriction.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Lower Clapton. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. A critical element 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton can be avoided where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Lower Clapton charge for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Lower Clapton state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • A minority of Lower Clapton leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Lower Clapton conveyancing transaction. If a new share certificate is necessary, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this as soon as possible.

    • Following months of dialogue we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Lower Clapton. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a Lower Clapton conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Lower Clapton premises is 104 Nightingale Road in May 2009. The Tribunal's Decision is that the premium torbe paid for the enfranchisement in this case is £112,174 This case affected 10 flats. The unexpired lease term was 71.25 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton what are the most frequent lease defects?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Lower Clapton. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
    • 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 may encounter 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. HSBC Bank, Virgin Money, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd 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 problematic they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.