North Sheen leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
I only have 72 years unexpired on my lease in North Sheen. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?
If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to 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 find the landlord. In some cases an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing North Sheen.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of maisonettes in North Sheen which have approximately 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 premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease reduces and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is generally wise to increase the term of the lease. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area
I've recently bought a leasehold property in North Sheen. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?
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 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).
What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a North Sheen conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
If you are instructing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a North Sheen conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you talk with two or three firms including non North Sheen conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:
- How experienced is the firm with lease extension legislation?
Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in North Sheen from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?
- A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in North Sheen can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start marketing the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
- The majority landlords or managing agents in North Sheen charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in North Sheen.
After years of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in North Sheen. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a North Sheen residence is Flat 1 30 Ennismore Avenue in September 2010. the Tribunal adopted and arrived at a premium for the lease extension of £29, 900 This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 68.34 years.