Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Shacklewell

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Shacklewell, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Questions and Answers: Shacklewell leasehold conveyancing

Due to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Shacklewell. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Shacklewell should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • The physical extent of the demise. This will be the apartment itself but could also include a roof space or basement if applicable.
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • Whether the lease restricts you from renting out the flat, or having a home office for business
  • You need to be told what counts as a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a sinking fund?
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions) For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Shacklewell please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Shacklewell

    • I work for a busy estate agent office in Shacklewell 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 received conflicting advice from local Shacklewell conveyancing firms. Please can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can initiate 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed 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 purchaser.

    Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Shacklewell from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Shacklewell can be avoided if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ solicitors.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Shacklewell leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals in place you should not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • Some Shacklewell leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the annual 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • We expect to complete the sale of our £250000 garden flat in Shacklewell in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £408 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Shacklewell?

    Shacklewell conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes usually necessitates the purchaser’s lawyer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries the majority will be content to do so. They may levy a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the information that you are referring to is £350, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge invoiced by the landlord must be accompanied by a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, otherwise the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

    I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Shacklewell conveyancing firm to assist?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Shacklewell residence is 5C Stoke Newington Road in April 2010. the Tribunal therefore concludes that the premium to be paid for the extended lease is £700.00 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 80.5 years.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Shacklewell what are the most common lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Shacklewell is not unique. All leases are individual and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct all have very detailed 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.