I am in need of some leasehold conveyancing in Sutton. Before diving in I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in Sutton - 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 have recently realised that I have Sixty One years left on my lease in Sutton. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is absent. 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 lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to locate the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to carry out a search and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Sutton.

I’m about to sell my basement apartment in Sutton.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?

The sensible thing to do is pay the service charge 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.

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Sutton from the point of view of expediting the sale process?

• Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Sutton can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
• The majority freeholders or managing agents in Sutton charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. 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 Sutton.
• 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 Sutton state that internal structural changes or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord approving such changes. Where you dont have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without checking with your conveyancer before hand.
• If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be nervous about purchasing a flat where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than ongoing.
• You believe that you know the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the remaining number of years is below 75 years. It is therefore important at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Sutton conveyancing firm to assist?

if there is a missing freeholder or if there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to assess the sum to be paid.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Sutton premises is Buchanan Court 39 Vernon Road in April 2010. the Tribunal assessed that the premium payable for the freehold of the block should be £44,000. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 66.67 years.

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Sutton what are the most frequent lease defects?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Sutton. All leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain parts of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• 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

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Yorkshire Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and TSB all have very detailed 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, obliging the buyer to withdraw.

Sutton Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries Prior to Purchasing

It would be a good idea to investigate if there is anything that is prohibited in the lease. For instance some leases prohibit pets being permitted in certain buildings in Sutton. If you like the flatin Sutton however your cat is not allowed to move with you then you will be presented with a difficult compromise. How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?