Leasehold Conveyancing in Seven Sisters - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Seven Sisters, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide be sure to choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Seven Sisters

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Seven Sisters. Before diving in I would like to find out the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Seven Sisters - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 today plan to offer on a house that appears to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently found out that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Seven Sisters. Conveyancing solicitors have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Seven Sisters ?

Most houses in Seven Sisters are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Seven Sisters so you should seriously consider looking for a Seven Sisters conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a tenant you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the freeholder’spermission to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Seven Sisters where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Seven Sisters conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has been the owner 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. This means that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

An alternative approach is 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a Seven Sisters conveyancing practice to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?

When appointing a conveyancer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Seven Sisters conveyancing firm) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We suggested that you make enquires with several firms including non Seven Sisters conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. If the firm is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be helpful:

  • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Seven Sisters in the last year?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Seven Sisters from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Seven Sisters can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
    • Some Seven Sisters leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Seven Sisters conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Seven Sisters conveyancing firm to represent me?

    Most certainly. We can put you in touch with a Seven Sisters conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Seven Sisters premises is 22 Wakefield Road in January 2012. Following a vesting order Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court under section 26 of the Leasehold Reform,Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 on 9th May 2011 the Tribunal decided that the price that the Applicant for the freehold interest should pay is £17,400 This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 74.13 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Seven Sisters