Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Mile End:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Mile End, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Find a Mile End conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Common questions relating to Mile End leasehold conveyancing

I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Mile End.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?

Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the service charge 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 unless 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 attracted to a two apartments in Mile End which have about forty five years unexpired on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Mile End is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 years become less and less marketable. 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 Mile End conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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.

What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Mile End conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Mile End conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you make enquires with several firms including non Mile End conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions might be helpful:

  • How many lease extensions have they carried out in Mile End in the last twenty four months?
  • Can they put you in touch with client in Mile End who can give a testimonial?

    • Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Mile End from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Mile End can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Mile End charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Mile End.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Mile End state that internal structural alterations or addition of wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. If you dont have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • A minority of Mile End 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 put in hand bank and professional references. The 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 there is a history of any disputes with your landlord 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 an ongoing dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £375000 maisonette in Mile End on Friday in a week. The freeholder has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Mile End?

    Mile End conveyancing on leasehold flats normally requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to such questions most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable administration fee for answering enquiries or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality you have no choice but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to complete the sale of your home.

    We have reached the end of our tether in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Mile End. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    if there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Mile End flat is 26 Rhondda Grove in June 2009. The net price payable by the leaseholders as determined by the Tribunal was £3,015.13. This comprised £11,300 premium for the reversion less £8,284.87 costs as ordered by the County Court.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Mile End