Leasehold Conveyancing in Stroud Green - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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Sample questions relating to Stroud Green leasehold conveyancing

There are only 68 years left on my flat in Stroud Green. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to locate the freeholder. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Stroud Green.

I own a leasehold house in Stroud Green. Conveyancing and Accord Mortgages Ltd mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the freehold. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing solicitor in Stroud Green who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Stroud Green conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Stroud Green where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given contradictory information from local Stroud Green conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Stroud Green with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Stroud Green can be avoided if you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Stroud Green charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Stroud Green.
  • If you have had conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be warry about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unresolved. You may need to swallow your pride and pay 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 clearly preferable to present the dispute as historic as opposed to ongoing.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and slows down many a Stroud Green home move. If a reissued share certificate is required, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be wise to verify this by asking your lawyers. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. 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 sale of our £225000 garden flat in Stroud Green in 8 days. The management company has quoted £420 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a leasehold conveyance in Stroud Green?

    Stroud Green conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes normally involves the purchaser’s solicitor submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions most will be content to do so. They may charge a reasonable charge for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average fee for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some transactions it exceeds £800. The management information fee levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in relation to administration charges, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. In reality one has no choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to exchange contracts with the buyer.

    I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Stroud Green conveyancing firm to represent me?

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

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Stroud Green flat is 51 Lorne Road in November 2009. The price Payable as decided by the tribunal for the freehold reversion was £27,000. The valuation follows the order of the County Court made on 3 April 2008 granting a vesting order. This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71 years.