Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Stockwell

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Any conveyancing practice can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Stockwell, your mortgage provider may unwilling to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Top Five Questions relating to Stockwell leasehold conveyancing

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years remaining on my flat in Stockwell. I now want to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

On the basis that 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 granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the freeholder. For most situations a specialist may be useful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court covering Stockwell.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Stockwell.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

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 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.

Back In 2006, I bought a leasehold flat in Stockwell. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in Stockwell who acted for me is not around.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to make sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a Stockwell conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold flat in Stockwell. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Stockwell with the aim of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stockwell can be avoided where you get in touch lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Stockwell state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. Where you fail to have the approvals in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or settle 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 better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the freehold, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a new share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Stockwell conveyancing transaction. If a reissued share certificate is required, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is below 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I have had difficulty in negotiating a lease extension in Stockwell. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Stockwell conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Stockwell premises is 3 Tintern Street in February 2010. The tribunal had jurisdiction to make a decision on the price of the freehold of the subject premises and concluded that the premium should be £24,630.00 This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 73.69 years.