I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Maida Vale. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Maida Vale ?

The majority of houses in Maida Vale are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Maida Vale in which case you should be looking for a Maida Vale conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in Maida Vale which have about fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There are plenty of short leases in Maida Vale. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. 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 lenders may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena

Last month I purchased a leasehold property in Maida Vale. 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. However, 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
• Many freeholders or managing agents in Maida Vale charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Maida Vale.

If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming process and slows down many a Maida Vale conveyancing deal. If a new share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's lawyer will be unlikely to recommend their client to to exchange contracts if the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

Completion in due on the sale of our £125000 garden flat in Maida Vale next week. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Maida Vale?

Maida Vale conveyancing on leasehold flats usually necessitates administration charges invoiced by managing agents :

• Answering pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Maida Vale
• Supplying insurance information
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your solicitor will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Maida Vale leasehold property is £350. For Maida Vale conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide answers.

Having spent years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Maida Vale. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to decide the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Maida Vale residence 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 affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.02 years.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Maida Vale