South Woodford leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
There are only Seventy years remaining on my flat in South Woodford. I now want to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. 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 mean that your lease can be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the landlord. For most situations a specialist would be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord 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 covering South Woodford.
I have just appointed agents to market my garden flat in South Woodford.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?
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 until 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.
Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in South Woodford. Conveyancing and Clydesdale mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1991. The conveyancing practitioner in South Woodford who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to instruct a South Woodford conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am looking at a couple of maisonettes in South Woodford both have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Do I need to be concerned?
There are plenty of short leases in South Woodford. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more expensive to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional assistance from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £375000 maisonette in South Woodford in seven days. The landlords agents has quoted £384 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years service charge statements. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in South Woodford?
South Woodford conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so. They may levy a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it exceeds £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have little option but to pay whatever is demanded should you wish to sell the property.
I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in South Woodford. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Where there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, 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 calculate the sum to be paid.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a South Woodford flat 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 the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 71.2 years.
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