Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

South Hornchurch leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in South Hornchurch - 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my 2 bed apartment in South Hornchurch.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in South Hornchurch. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in South Hornchurch who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. It is not necessary to instruct a South Hornchurch conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am looking at a two flats in South Hornchurch both have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?

There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in South Hornchurch is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the value of the premises. For most buyers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of premises with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with South Hornchurch conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch with the aim of expediting the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Hornchurch can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? South Hornchurch leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. Where you dont have the consents to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
  • A minority of South Hornchurch leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a South Hornchurch conveyancing transaction. Where a reissued share is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can I make an application to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal? Can you recommend a South Hornchurch conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a South Hornchurch conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a South Hornchurch premises is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 57.5 years.