Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Southall:

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Southall leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

I only have Seventy years unexpired on my lease in Southall. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is absent. What are my options?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. On the whole a specialist would be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Southall.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Southall. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The length of the lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • 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
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • 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
  • 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 you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Southall please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Southall

    • I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed flat in Southall.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a yearly service charge demand – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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 management companies 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.

    Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Southall with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Southall can be reduced if you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
    • The majority landlords or managing agents in Southall 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 information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Southall.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Southall state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the consents in place you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of Southall leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand 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 conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.

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

    if there is a absentee landlord 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 LVT to determine the price.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Southall flat is 33 Barbican Road in January 2013. The Tribunals calculation of the lease extension premium payable was £17,592. This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 55.12 years.

    Are there common deficiencies that you come across in leases for Southall properties?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Southall. All leases are unique and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain provisions are not included. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
    • A duty to insure the building
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    A defective lease can cause problems when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Bank of Scotland, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease does not cover certain provisions they may refuse to provide security, obliging the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Southall