I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone. Before diving in I would like to find out the remaining lease term.

If the lease is recorded at the land registry - and 99.9% are in Wealdstone - then the leasehold title will always include the short particulars 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.

Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Wealdstone.Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?

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 choosing a Wealdstone conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wealdstone conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We recommend that you talk with two or three firms including non Wealdstone conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be helpful:

• If the firm is not ALEP accredited then what is the reason?
• What volume of lease extensions has the firm carried out in Wealdstone in the last 12 months?

Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone from the point of view of speeding up the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate 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 approval? In particular have you laid down wooden flooring? Wealdstone leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord approving such alterations. Where you dont have the paperwork to hand do not contact the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
• Some Wealdstone leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
• If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you have the original share certificate. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a lengthy formality and slows down many a Wealdstone conveyancing deal. If a duplicate share certificate is necessary, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
• You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but it would be advisable double-check by asking your conveyancers. A purchaser's conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is below 80 years. It is therefore important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

After months of negotiations we simply can't agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Wealdstone. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

Where there is a absentee landlord or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the relevant legislation you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to decide the amount due.

An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement matter before the tribunal for a Wealdstone property 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 fi
gure of £13,000 for the freehold interest This case affected 1 flat. The remaining number of years on the lease was 74 years.

What makes a Wealdstone lease unmortgageable?

Leasehold conveyancing in Wealdstone is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the premises
• A duty to insure the building
• Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

You may encounter difficulties when selling your property if you have a defective lease as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Halifax, Virgin Money, and Godiva Mortgages Ltd all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

Wealdstone Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Queries Prior to buying

Please tell me if there are any major works in the planning that will likely add a premium to the maintenance costs? Where a Wealdstone lease has no more than 80 years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your lender that they are happy with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely have to extend the lease sooner rather than later and you need to have some idea of what this would cost. For most Wealdstonelease extensions you would be be obliged to have been the owner of the residence for a couple of years in order to be entitled to extend the lease.