Leasehold Conveyancing in Stoke Newington - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Newington, you will need to instruct a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Nationwide be sure to find a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Newington

I have recently realised that I have 72 years unexpired on my flat in Stoke Newington. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is can not be found. What should I do?

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 for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to track down the landlord. On the whole a specialist would be useful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Stoke Newington.

Expecting to exchange soon on a garden flat in Stoke Newington. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they report fully tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Setting out your rights in respect of common areas in the block.By way of example, does the lease provide for a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • 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 rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames
  • What you can do if a neighbour breach a clause of their lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Stoke Newington please ask your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Stoke Newington

    • I’m about to sell my garden apartment in Stoke Newington.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – Do I pay up?

    The sensible thing to do is discharge 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 unless 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 Stoke Newington with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Newington can be avoided where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ representatives.
    • 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 Stoke Newington state that internal structural alterations or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your lawyer before hand.
  • A minority of Stoke Newington leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you are holding the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Stoke Newington conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check via your conveyancers. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • After months of dialogue we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Stoke Newington. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    if there is a missing landlord or if there is disagreement 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 determine the amount due.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Stoke Newington property is Lower Flat 16A Beatty Road in September 2012. The premium payable was £13,577. The terms of the lease has been agreed between the Applicants and the First Respondent and the Tribunal did not seek to disturb that agreement. This case affected 1 flat.

    In relation to leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Newington what are the most common lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Stoke Newington is not unique. All leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • 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

    You could have a problem when selling your property if you have a defective lease primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Stoke Newington