Top Five Questions relating to Norwood Green leasehold conveyancing
There are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Norwood Green. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?
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 extended by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Norwood Green.
Expecting to complete next month on a ground floor flat in Norwood Green. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. What should I be looking out for?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Norwood Green should include some of the following:
- Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have since found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Norwood Green. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Norwood Green ?
Most houses in Norwood Green are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. it is apparent that you are buying in Norwood Green in which case you should be shopping around for a Norwood Green conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the freeholder’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer will advise you fully on all the issues.
Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Norwood Green. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before 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. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part 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).
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Norwood Green where we have experienced a number of flat sales put at risk as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Norwood Green conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.
An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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 buyer.
I am the leaseholder of a basement flat in Norwood Green. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Norwood Green conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Norwood Green property is 6 Jessamine Road in August 2013. The Tribunals valuation (as annexed to the decision) calculated the amount payable as £18,355 for the freehold reversion This case related to 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.39 years.
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