Frequently asked questions relating to New Southgate leasehold conveyancing
There are only Sixty One years remaining on my lease in New Southgate. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?
On the basis that 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 mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing New Southgate.
I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in New Southgate.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should discharge the invoice 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 until 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 hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have since been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a house with a leasehold title in New Southgate. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in New Southgate are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in New Southgate in which case you should be shopping around for a New Southgate conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the upkeep of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your solicitor will appraise you on the various issues.
I am attracted to a two apartments in New Southgate both have about fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a period of time. As a lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We advise that you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this field
I work for a long established estate agency in New Southgate where we have witnessed a number of flat sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received contradictory information from local New Southgate conveyancing firms. Can you shed some light as to whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has been the owner 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 proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord for a lease extension without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a New Southgate conveyancing firm to represent me?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a New Southgate conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a New Southgate premises is 23 Beaconsfield Road in July 2013. The Tribunals decided that the amount payable was £31,203 for the freehold. This case affected 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 70.31 years.
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