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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide be sure to choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Maida Vale conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale. Before I get started I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Maida Vale - 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.

There are only 62 years unexpired on my flat in Maida Vale. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Maida Vale.

I've recently bought a leasehold property in Maida Vale. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

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. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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 a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Maida Vale where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Maida Vale conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the buyer?

Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 purchaser.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers lawyers.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Maida Vale levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Maida Vale state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Should you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Maida Vale home move. Where a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • We have reached the end of our tether in trying to purchase the freehold in Maida Vale. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or if there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to determine the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Maida Vale premises is 4 & 4A Charteris Road in June 2009. the Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the enfranchisement of 4/4a Charteris Road to be £15,510 for at 4and £15,694 for at 4a This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.02 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Maida Vale