Sample questions relating to Selsdon leasehold conveyancing
I have recently realised that I have 72 years remaining on my flat in Selsdon. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?
On the basis that 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 lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to locate the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be helpful to conduct investigations 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 in relation to proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Selsdon.
Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Selsdon. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report on Monday. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Selsdon should include some of the following:
- Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
I am looking at a two flats in Selsdon both have approximately 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Selsdon is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with less than 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 Selsdon 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 long established estate agency in Selsdon where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Selsdon conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension process for the buyer?
Provided that 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 sit tight for 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.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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.
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £200000 flat in Selsdon next Friday . The landlords agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in Selsdon?
Selsdon conveyancing on leasehold apartments more often than not involves the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to respond to these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They are entitled invoice a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee invoiced by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in respect of administration charges, without which the invoice is technically not due. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.
We have reached the end of our tether in negotiating a lease extension in Selsdon. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
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 First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the sum to be paid.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Selsdon residence is The Woodlands 95 Purley Park Road in April 2009. The Tribunals own valuation produced the figure of £37,912. This case related to 6 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 78.32 years.
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