Top Five Questions relating to Wembley leasehold conveyancing
I am hoping to exchange soon on a ground floor flat in Wembley. Conveyancing solicitors assured me that they report fully within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Wembley should include some of the following:
- Does the lease prevent you from letting out the flat, or having a home office for business
I am attracted to a couple of maisonettes in Wembley both have approximately fifty years remaining on the lease term. Will this present a problem?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease gets shorter the saleability of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena
I've recently bought a leasehold property in Wembley. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before completion of my purchase?
In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. Strange as it may seem, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to be sure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.
If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Wembley where we have witnessed a few flat sales put at risk as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local Wembley conveyancing solicitors. Could you confirm whether the seller of a flat can instigate the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer need not have to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
An alternative approach is to agree the lease extension with the freeholder either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
What are your top tips when it comes to choosing a Wembley conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
When appointing a conveyancer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wembley conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Wembley 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 useful:
- Can they put you in touch with client in Wembley who can give a testimonial?
Having spent months of negotiations we are unable to agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Wembley. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?
You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Wembley conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Wembley residence is Ground Floor Flat 79 London Road in September 2012. the Tribunal held that the premium payable for the lease extension should be £7,636 This case affected 1 flat. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 74 years.
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