Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Uxbridge:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Uxbridge, you will need to chose a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your lender is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley be sure to find a lawyer on their panel. Feel free to use our search tool

Top Five Questions relating to Uxbridge leasehold conveyancing

Due to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Uxbridge. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report next week. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • The physical extent of the premises. This will be the flat itself but might incorporate a loft or cellar if appropriate.
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • Changes to the flat (alterations and additions)
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be included in your report on your leasehold property in Uxbridge please ask your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Uxbridge

    • I have just started marketing my garden apartment in Uxbridge.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance 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 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.

    I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it all the more appealing. I have just been informed that the title is leasehold as opposed to freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a leasehold house in Uxbridge. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been instructed. Will they explain the issues?

    Most houses in Uxbridge are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are buying in Uxbridge in which case you should be looking for a Uxbridge conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. Being a leaseholder you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the property is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will appraise you on the various issues.

    I am attracted to a couple of flats in Uxbridge both have about 50 years left on the lease term. Will this present a problem?

    There is no doubt about it. A leasehold flat in Uxbridge is a wasting asset as a result of the reducing lease term. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it reduces the salability of the property. The majority of purchasers and lenders, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat 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 Uxbridge conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. 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 top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Uxbridge from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Uxbridge can be avoided where you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Uxbridge charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should find out the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common cause of frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Uxbridge.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Uxbridge state that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring calls for a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you dont have the paperwork to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your lawyer in the first instance.
  • Some Uxbridge leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is put on the market. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. 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 ahead of 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 reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord for a lease extension without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Uxbridge conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Uxbridge conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Uxbridge premises is 164 Nestles Avenue in October 2013. The tribunal agreed with the proposed price of £20,158 for the freehold and determined that that sum is the amount to be paid into court This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Uxbridge