Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Mitcham

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

Top Five Questions relating to Mitcham leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Mitcham. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Mitcham - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years unexpired on my flat in Mitcham. I now wish to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist should be useful to carry out a search and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Mitcham.

Looking forward to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Mitcham. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the property itself but may incorporate a roof space or cellar if applicable.
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • 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
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • 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
  • 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 Mitcham please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Mitcham

    • I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Mitcham which have approximately 50 years unexpired on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Mitcham is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with under eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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 a residence 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 Mitcham conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that the agreed 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 finding a Mitcham conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

    If you are instructing a solicitor for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Mitcham conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you make enquires with two or three firms including non Mitcham conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be useful:

    • How familiar is the firm with lease extension legislation?
  • How many lease extensions have they conducted in Mitcham in the last year?

    • I own a basement flat in Mitcham. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for the purchase of the freehold?

    Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to determine the price.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Mitcham property is 50 & 52 Southcroft Road in September 2013. The tribunals own valuation determined that the premium payable should be £29,000 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 86.11 and 60.64.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Mitcham