Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Orpington

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Orpington, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Orpington conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Orpington

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Orpington. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Orpington - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

I own a leasehold house in Orpington. Conveyancing and National Westminster Bank mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Orpington who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

First make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a Orpington conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am attracted to a couple of flats in Orpington which have about fifty years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Orpington is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, 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 property 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 Orpington 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 You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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.

I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Orpington where we see a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Orpington conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

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 can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.

Alternatively, it may be possible 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Orpington with the purpose of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Orpington can be reduced if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Orpington levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Orpington.
  • A minority of Orpington leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly service charge and the actual amount of the service charge should be quoted in the bank’s letter. You will therefore need to provide your estate agents with the actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a Orpington home move. If a duplicate share is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to double-check via your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • After years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Orpington. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Orpington conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Orpington residence is 1 Southlands Court Southlands Road in September 2013. The Leasehold Valuation Tribunal determined that the premium to be paid by the tenant on the grant of a new lease, in accordance with section 56 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 was £30,541 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 50.57 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Orpington