Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Tooting:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Tooting, you will need to instruct a conveyancing practitioner with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or Nationwide make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Recently asked questions relating to Tooting leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Tooting. Before diving in I want to be sure as to the number of years remaining on the lease.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in Tooting - 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 just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Tooting.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge demand – 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 managing agents 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.

I own a leasehold house in Tooting. Conveyancing and Barclays Direct mortgage went though with no issue. A letter has just been received from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1992. The conveyancing practitioner in Tooting who acted for me is not around.Any advice?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Tooting conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. You should note that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Tooting from the perspective of expediting the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tooting can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers as soon as you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the buyers representatives.
  • Many freeholders or managing agents in Tooting levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Tooting.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Tooting leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord consenting to such works. If you fail to have the paperwork to hand do not communicate with the landlord without contacting your lawyer in advance.
  • If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved before the property is put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is a current dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should ensure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a duplicate share certificate can be a lengthy process and slows down many a Tooting home move. Where a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on our sale of a £200000 garden flat in Tooting in six days. The management company has quoted £312 for Certificate of Compliance, building insurance schedule and 3 years statements of service charge. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a leasehold conveyance in Tooting?

    Tooting conveyancing on leasehold flats normally necessitates the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to address. Although the landlord is under no legal obligation to respond to such questions most will be willing to do so. They are at liberty charge a reasonable charge for responding to questions or supplying documentation. There is no upper cap for such fees. The average costs for the paperwork that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some situations it is in excess of £800. The administration charge levied by the landlord must be sent together with a synopsis of rights and obligations in relation to administration fees, without which the invoice is not strictly payable. Reality however dictates that you have little choice but to pay whatever is requested of you should you wish to sell the property.

    After months of correspondence we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Tooting. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

    in cases where there is a absentee landlord or where there is dispute 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 LVT to judgment on the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Tooting flat is 14 Nutwell Street in January 2014. The premium payable for the acquisition of a new lease of the subject premises was in the sum of £30,523 This case related to 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 62.94 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Tooting