Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone:

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Leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone is more complex than freehold. Your home move will be smoother where you choose a lawyer with a wealth of experience of leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone and throughout next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Recently asked questions relating to Wealdstone leasehold conveyancing

My partner and I may need to let out our Wealdstone basement flat temporarily due to a new job. We used a Wealdstone conveyancing practice in 2003 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Notwithstanding that your previous Wealdstone conveyancing lawyer is not available you can check your lease to check if it allows you to sublet the apartment. The rule is that if the lease is silent, subletting is allowed. There may be a precondition that you need to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means that you cannot sublet without first obtaining consent. Such consent should not be unreasonably refused ore delayed. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you will need to ask your landlord for their consent.

Expecting to sign contracts shortly on a studio apartment in Wealdstone. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they are sending me a report within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?

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

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and informed of the importance of the 80 year mark
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Setting out your legal entitlements in relation to common areas in the building.For instance, does the lease include a right of way over a path or staircase?
  • Does the lease prevent you from renting out the property, or having a home office for business
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your premises and do you know what it means in practice?
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Wealdstone please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Wealdstone

    • I have just appointed agents to market my basement flat in Wealdstone.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a half-yearly service charge invoice – what should I do?

    The sensible thing to do is 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 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. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

    Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Wealdstone conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?

    When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wealdstone conveyancing practice) it is imperative that he or she should be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We recommend that you make enquires with several firms including non Wealdstone conveyancing practices before you instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then so much the better. Some following of questions could be of use:

    • How experienced is the practice with lease extension legislation?
  • What volume of lease extensions have they completed in Wealdstone in the last twenty four months?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone can be bypassed if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Wealdstone levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for 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 cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone.
  • A minority of Wealdstone leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. Any 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 buyers or their solicitors.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder 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 flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve 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 will still have to reveal details of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share document. Arranging a re-issued share certificate can be a lengthy process and frustrates many a Wealdstone home move. If a new share is necessary, you should approach the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.

    • I have attempted and failed to negotiate with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on such issues? Can you recommend a Wealdstone conveyancing firm to represent me?

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

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Wealdstone premises is 139/139A Masons Avenue in February 2010. this was a case with an absentee freeholder. As a result the leaseholders applied to Willesden County Court for an order dispensing with the giving of a notice of claim.14th October 2009 District Judge Brar granted a vesting order and the court directed that the matter should be transferred to this tribunal to determine the freehold premium. The tribunal concluded on a figure of £13,000 for the freehold interest This case was in relation to 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 74 years.