Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Queen's Park
There are only 72 years remaining on my lease in Queen's Park. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What should I do?
If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the landlord. In some cases a specialist should be useful to try and locate and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Queen's Park.
Looking forward to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Queen's Park. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. What should I be looking out for?
The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Queen's Park should include some of the following:
- You should receive a copy of the lease
I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in Queen's Park. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be appointed. Will they explain the issues?
Most houses in Queen's Park 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 buying in Queen's Park in which case you should be looking for a Queen's Park conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example requiring the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should report to you on the legal implications.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in Queen's Park both have in the region of fifty years remaining on the leases. Will this present a problem?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Queen's Park 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 value of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 75 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 premises 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 a residence 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 Queen's Park 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.
Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Queen's Park. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?
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. 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 have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Queen's Park conveyancing firm to help?
in cases where there is a missing landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant statutes you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to arrive at the price.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Queen's Park property is 4 & 4A Charteris Road in June 2009. the Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the enfranchisement of 4/4a Charteris Road to be £15,510 for at 4and £15,694 for at 4a This case related to 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 70.02 years.
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