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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in South Woodford, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Lloyds, Birmingham Midshires or NatWest make sure you find a lawyer on their panel. Find a South Woodford conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to South Woodford leasehold conveyancing

There are only 62 years remaining on my flat in South Woodford. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer in relation to investigating the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing South Woodford.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a studio apartment in South Woodford. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they are sending me a report next week. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Defining your rights in respect of the communal areas in the building.By way of example, does the lease grant a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Does the lease require carpeting throughout thus preventing wood flooring?
  • 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
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • 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 South Woodford please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in South Woodford

    • I am looking at a two maisonettes in South Woodford both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold apartment in South Woodford is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the premises. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than 75 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 Woodford conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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 the agreed 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.

    Can you offer any advice when it comes to choosing a South Woodford conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

    When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a South Woodford conveyancing firm) it is essential that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you speak with several firms including non South Woodford conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:

    • If they are not ALEP accredited then why not?
  • How many lease extensions have they completed in South Woodford in the last year?

    • Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in South Woodford from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Woodford can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • Many landlords or Management Companies in South Woodford levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought on or before finding a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in South Woodford.
  • Some South Woodford leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying the yearly 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 purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and 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 prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You are still duty bound to disclose details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Obtaining a replacement share certificate is often a lengthy process and delays many a South Woodford conveyancing deal. If a reissued share is needed, do contact the company officers or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Following years of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in South Woodford. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to arrive at the premium.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a South Woodford residence is 135 Maybank Road in January 2013. The Tribunal determined that the price to be paid by the tenants for the grant of a new lease is £10,592 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 71.2 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in South Woodford