Looking forward to exchange soon on a garden flat in Northolt. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Northolt should include some of the following:

• Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord

Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?

Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business

An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has

Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?

Responsibility for repairing the window frames

What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Northolt please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Northolt

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Northolt. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Northolt ?

The majority of houses in Northolt are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are purchasing in Northolt so you should seriously consider looking for a Northolt conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

I am attracted to a couple of apartments in Northolt which have in the region of fifty years left on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Northolt is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and banks, leases with less than eighty 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 Northolt 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 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 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.

We expect to complete the sale of our £350000 apartment in Northolt next Wednesday . The landlords agents has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Northolt?

Northolt conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes typically involves fees being invoiced by landlords agents :

• Answering pre-contract questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Northolt
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Northolt leasehold premises is £350. For Northolt 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 supply the information.

Following months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Northolt. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Northolt conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Northolt flat is GFF 1 Holyrood Avenue in May 2014. The Tenant wished to acquire a new (extended) lease and applied to the Willesden County Court who granted a vesting order on 20* March2013. The Tribunal decied that the premium to be paid was £9,062 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 79 years.

What makes a Northolt lease defective?

Leasehold conveyancing in Northolt is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Halifax, Skipton Building Society, and Clydesdale all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Other Topics

Lease Extensions in Northolt