Recently asked questions relating to Sydenham leasehold conveyancing
I only have Seventy years remaining on my flat in Sydenham. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?
If you qualify, 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 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 used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist may be useful to carry out a search and prepare a report which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Sydenham.
I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a ground floor flat in Sydenham. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Sydenham should include some of the following:
- The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and informed of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
I have just started marketing my ground floor flat in Sydenham.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – what should I do?
The sensible thing to do is clear 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 managing agents 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.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agent office in Sydenham where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Sydenham conveyancing solicitors. Can you clarify whether the vendor of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with 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 purchaser.
What are your top tips when it comes to finding a Sydenham conveyancing firm to carry out our lease extension conveyancing?
When appointing a property lawyer for lease extension works (regardless if they are a Sydenham conveyancing firm) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with two or three firms including non Sydenham conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:
- How many lease extensions have they carried out in Sydenham in the last year?
I am the proprietor of a garden flat in Sydenham. In the absence of agreement between myself and the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?
Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about what the lease extension should cost, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the LVT to make a decision on the premium.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Sydenham property is Flat 1 4 Border Crescent in March 2012. the Tribunal decided that the sum payable by the Applicants to the Respondent in respect of the new lease for the subject property should be £11,616.00 (ElevenThousand and Six Hundred and Sixteen Pounds) This case was in relation to 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 72.04 years.
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