Top Five Questions relating to St John's Wood leasehold conveyancing
I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood. Before I get started I require certainty as to the unexpired term of the lease.
If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in St John's Wood - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 only have 68 years unexpired on my flat in St John's Wood. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What are my options?
If you meet the appropriate requirements, 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 lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have done all that could be expected to find the landlord. On the whole a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing St John's Wood.
Expecting to complete next month on a studio apartment in St John's Wood. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me on Monday. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood should include some of the following:
- The physical extent of the property. This will be the apartment itself but may include a loft or basement if applicable.
Back In 2004, I bought a leasehold flat in St John's Wood. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in St John's Wood who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?
The first thing you should do is contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to incur the fees of a St John's Wood conveyancing lawyer to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in St John's Wood both have approximately 50 years remaining on the leases. should I be concerned?
There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in St John's Wood is a deteriorating asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The closer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it adversely affects the value of the premises. For most buyers and mortgage companies, leases with under 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 premises 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 a residence 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 St John's Wood 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 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.
I inherited a ground floor flat in St John's Wood. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the amount payable for a lease extension?
if there is a absentee freeholder or where there is dispute about what the lease extension should cost, under the relevant legislation it is possible to make an application to the LVT to arrive at the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a St John's Wood residence is Garden Flat 195 Goldhurst Terrace in May 2012. The Tribunal held in accordance with section 48 and Schedule 13 of the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 that the premium for the extended lease should be £60,855.00. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 60.16 years.
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