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

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Soho, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Find a Soho conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Soho leasehold conveyancing

Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in Soho. Before diving in I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Soho - 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.

Due to sign contracts shortly on a basement flat in Soho. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • The physical extent of the premises. This will be the apartment itself but might incorporate a roof space or cellar if appropriate.
  • You need to be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • 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
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Soho please ask your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Soho

    • Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Soho.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is pay the invoice as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Soho with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Soho can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Soho charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Soho.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Soho leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring calls for a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. If you fail to have the approvals to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer before hand.
  • A minority of Soho leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.

    • Completion in due on the disposal of our £150000 flat in Soho next week. The management company has quoted £300 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Soho?

    Soho conveyancing on leasehold flats often necessitates the buyer’s conveyancer sending enquiries for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to address such questions the majority will be content to assist. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it is above £800. The management information fee demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration charges, otherwise the charge is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is demanded if you want to complete the sale of your home.

    I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can one make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a Soho conveyancing firm to assist?

    Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the price payable.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Soho flat is 20 Avonwick Road in July 2013. The Tribunal was dealing with an application under Section 26 of the Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 for a determination of the freehold value of the property. It was concluded that the price to be paid was Fifteen Thousand Nine Hundred and Seventy (£15,970) divided as to £8,200 for Flat 20 and £7,770 for Flat 20A This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 73.26 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Soho