Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood:

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While any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to St John's Wood leasehold conveyancing

My fiance and I may need to sub-let our St John's Wood 1st floor flat for a while due to a new job. We used a St John's Wood conveyancing firm in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Your lease governs the relationship between the freeholder and you the flat owner; in particular, it will say if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. Most leases in St John's Wood do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would adversely affect the market value the flat. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the tenancy agreement.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in St John's Wood which have about 50 years unexpired on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in St John's Wood is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the marketability of the property. The majority of buyers and lenders, leases with under eighty years become less and less attractive. On a more positive 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 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. 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood can be bypassed where you get in touch lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
  • The majority freeholders or managing agents in St John's Wood charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in St John's Wood state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your conveyancer in advance.
  • A minority of St John's Wood leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are able to meet 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 purchasers or their solicitors.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will not be happy to advise their client to where the remaining number of years is under 75 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £400000 garden flat in St John's Wood next Wednesday . The managing agents has quoted £384 for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a flat conveyance in St John's Wood?

    St John's Wood conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally requires the buyer’s solicitor sending enquiries for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to answer these enquiries most will be willing to assist. They are at liberty levy a reasonable administration fee 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 transactions it is above £800. The administration charge required by the landlord must be sent together with a summary of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.

    I have given up trying to purchase the freehold in St John's Wood. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a St John's Wood conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a St John's Wood property 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 affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 60.16 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood what are the most frequent lease problems?

    Leasehold conveyancing in St John's Wood is not unique. All leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are wrong. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the property
    • Insurance obligations
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage

    You could have difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. National Westminster Bank, Skipton Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in St John's Wood