I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in South Harrow. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in South Harrow - 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.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns purchasing a leasehold house in South Harrow. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in South Harrow ?

The majority of houses in South Harrow are freehold rather than leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are buying in South Harrow in which case you should be shopping around for a South Harrow conveyancing practitioner and be sure that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should advise you fully on all the issues.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in South Harrow. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Harrow from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in South Harrow can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
• If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in South Harrow state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your solicitor before hand.
• If there is a history of any disputes with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
• If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a South Harrow home move. Where a reissued share is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be wise to verify this via your conveyancers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage 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.

We have reached the end of our tether in negotiating a lease extension in South Harrow. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

You certainly can. We are happy to put you in touch with a South Harrow conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension decision for a South Harrow premises is GFF 1 Holyrood Avenue in May 2014. The Tenant wished to acquire a new (extended) lease and applied to the Willesden County Court who granted a vesting order on 20* March2013. The Tribunal decied that the premium to be paid was £9,062 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 79 years.

What makes a South Harrow lease unmortgageable?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in South Harrow. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease can cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Skipton Building Society, and Nottingham Building Society all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

South Harrow Leasehold Conveyancing - Sample of Questions you should ask before Purchasing

Make sure you find out if there are any onerous restrictions in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being allowed in certain buildings in South Harrow. If you like the apartmentin South Harrow however your dog is not allowed to live with you then you will be faced hard decision. You should be aware that where the lease has no more than eighty years it will impact the value of the flat. It is worth checking with your bank that they are willing to go ahead with the loan given the lease term. Leases with less than 80 years remaining means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you will be required to have been the owner of the property for two years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.