Common questions relating to Ponders End leasehold conveyancing
There are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Ponders End. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What should I do?
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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to find the landlord. For most situations an enquiry agent should be useful to conduct investigations and to produce a report which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Ponders End.
Expecting to complete next month on a garden flat in Ponders End. 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 Ponders End should include some of the following:
- How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
I've found a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable figure which is making it more attractive. I have since discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Ponders End. Conveyancing advisers have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?
The majority of houses in Ponders End are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Ponders End in which case you should be looking for a Ponders End conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your lawyer should advise you fully on all the issues.
Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Ponders End. 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).
Following years of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Ponders End. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
if there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the price payable.
An example of a Vesting Order and Purchase of freehold decision for a Ponders End premises is Ground Floor Flat 4A Baronet Road in February 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 23rd December 2008 (case number 8ED064) the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £8,689.00 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 80.01 years.
What makes a Ponders End lease unmortgageable?
There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Ponders End. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:
- Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the building
- Insurance obligations
- Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
- Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall
A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Bank of Ireland all have express 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, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.
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