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

Get a Quote

Any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in Snaresbrook, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Snaresbrook leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Snaresbrook. Before I get started I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in Snaresbrook - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Harry (my fiance) and I may need to rent out our Snaresbrook basement flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Snaresbrook conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have since shut and we did not think at the time get any advice as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Even though your previous Snaresbrook conveyancing solicitor is no longer around you can review your lease to see if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The accepted inference is that if the lease is non-specific, subletting is permitted. Quite often there is a prerequisite that you are obliged to seek permission via your landlord or other appropriate person prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet without first obtaining permission. Such consent should not be unreasonably withheld. If your lease does not allow you to sublet you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Snaresbrook. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they will have a report out to me next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Snaresbrook should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or working from home
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • Whether your lease has a provision for a reserve fund?
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Snaresbrook please ask your lawyer in ahead of your conveyancing in Snaresbrook

    • My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Snaresbrook. Conveyancing and Barnsley Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1996. The conveyancing solicitor in Snaresbrook who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

    First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. You do not need to incur the fees of a Snaresbrook conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

    I've recently bought a leasehold property in Snaresbrook. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

    In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee 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. A critical element 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).

    I inherited a basement flat in Snaresbrook. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium due for the purchase of the freehold?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to decide the price.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Snaresbrook property is 36 New Wanstead in August 2010. The Tribunal arrived at a valuation of the premium for the freehold of £22,359. This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 73.92 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Snaresbrook