Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Petts Wood, you will need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, RBS or Nationwide make sure you find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Sample questions relating to Petts Wood leasehold conveyancing

Due to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Petts Wood. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • The physical extent of the property. This will be the property itself but might include a roof space or basement if appropriate.
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the flat, or working from home
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this is subject to change
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Petts Wood please enquire of your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Petts Wood

    • I’m about to sell my 2 bed apartment in Petts Wood.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just received a half-yearly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

    It best that you clear 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.

    My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Petts Wood. Conveyancing and Chelsea Building Society mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing solicitor in Petts Wood who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

    The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to instruct a Petts Wood conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    Last month I purchased a leasehold house in Petts Wood. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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 employed by a busy estate agency in Petts Wood where we have witnessed a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received inconsistent advice from local Petts Wood conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start 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 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 at the same time as 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 own a second floor flat in Petts Wood. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount due for a lease extension?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Petts Wood conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Petts Wood flat 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 was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 50.57 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Petts Wood