Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Upminster:

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While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically deal with your leasehold conveyancing in Upminster, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Upminster leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Upminster. Before I set the wheels in motion 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 99.9% are in Upminster - 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.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 62 years left on my flat in Upminster. I now want to get lease extension but my landlord is absent. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply 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 prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to locate the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Upminster.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my garden flat in Upminster.Conveyancing is yet to be initiated but I have just received a quarterly service charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you discharge 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I am looking at a couple of apartments in Upminster both have in the region of forty five years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?

A lease is a right to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and results in it becoming more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money on such properties. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this arena

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Upminster from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Upminster can be reduced where you appoint lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Upminster state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such alterations. If you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand.
  • A minority of Upminster leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 buyers or their lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes 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 concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share document. Arranging a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Upminster conveyancing deal. Where a new share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • Notwithstanding our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to purchase the freehold in Upminster. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Upminster conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Upminster flat is 37 Lodge Court High Street in November 2013. the decision of the LVT was that the premium to be paid for the new lease was £25,559 This case related to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 57.5 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Upminster