Quality lawyers for Leasehold Conveyancing in Thornton Heath

When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Thornton Heath, you will need to chose a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, RBS or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Sample questions relating to Thornton Heath leasehold conveyancing

Expecting to exchange soon on a basement flat in Thornton Heath. Conveyancing solicitors have said that they report fully within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Thornton Heath should include some of the following:

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, landlord
  • Defining your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the block.For example, does the lease grant a right of way over an accessway or staircase?
  • Does the lease prohibit wood flooring?
  • Are you allowed to have a pet in the flat?
  • 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.
  • The landlord’s obligations to repair and maintain the building. It is important that you know who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of every part of the building
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Thornton Heath please enquire of your conveyancer in advance of your conveyancing in Thornton Heath

  • I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Thornton Heath which have about forty five years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There are no two ways about it. A leasehold flat in Thornton Heath is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the salability of the property. For most buyers and lenders, leases with less than 75 years become less and less attractive. On a more positive note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the premises for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Thornton Heath conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending the lease They may agree to a smaller lump sum and an increase in the ground rent, but to shorter extension terms in return. You need to ensure that any new terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Thornton Heath from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Thornton Heath can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
    • Some Thornton Heath leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is financially capable of paying the annual 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you have the benefit of shareholding in the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate is often a lengthy process and frustrates many a Thornton Heath conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this sooner rather than later.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your solicitors. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 75 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you consider whether the lease requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

  • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £350000 maisonette in Thornton Heath next week. The managing agents has quoted £336 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and previous years statements of service charge. Is the landlord entitled to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Thornton Heath?

    Thornton Heath conveyancing on leasehold flats typically necessitates administration charges levied by landlords agents :

    • Addressing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
    • Where consent is required before sale in Thornton Heath
    • Supplying insurance information
    • Deeds of covenant upon sale
    • Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
    Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Thornton Heath leasehold premises is £350. For Thornton Heath conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are required to provide the information.

    I have had difficulty in trying to purchase the freehold in Thornton Heath. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Thornton Heath conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Thornton Heath premises is Ground Floor Flat 14 Lodge Road in October 2013. the tribunal held that the price payable for the acquisition of the extended lease of the property should be £12,590 .00 This case was in relation to 1 flat. The unexpired term was 69.46 years.

    What makes a Thornton Heath lease problematic?

    There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Thornton Heath. Most leases are individual and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are not included. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building
    • Insurance obligations
    • 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 can cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Bank of Scotland, and Barclays Direct all have express 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, forcing the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Thornton Heath