Sample questions relating to Wembley Park leasehold conveyancing
Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Sixty One years unexpired on my flat in Wembley Park. I need to get lease extension but my landlord is missing. What options are available to me?
On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you or your lawyers have done all that could be expected to find the freeholder. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare a report which can be used as proof that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the application to the County Court overseeing Wembley Park.
I have just started marketing my 2 bed apartment in Wembley Park.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just had a yearly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should clear 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. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I today plan to offer on a house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great price which is making it all the more appealing. I have just found out that it's a leasehold as opposed to freehold. I would have thought that there are particular concerns buying a house with a leasehold title in Wembley Park. Conveyancing solicitors have not yet been appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Wembley Park ?
The majority of houses in Wembley Park are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local conveyancer used to dealing with such properties who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Wembley Park so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Wembley Park conveyancing practitioner and check that they are used to dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want to the property. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to conduct alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer should appraise you on the various issues.
I own a leasehold flat in Wembley Park. Conveyancing and Skipton Building Society mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the freehold. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in Wembley Park who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?
First contact the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the registered owner of the freehold reversion. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Wembley Park conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am a negotiator for a busy estate agency in Wembley Park where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales derailed due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Wembley Park conveyancing firms. Can you clarify whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord 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.
My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in Wembley Park. Can this matter be resolved via the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal?
Where there is a missing freeholder or where there is dispute about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal to make a decision on the amount due.
An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Wembley Park property is Ground Floor Flat 69 Clifton Avenue in March 2012. the Tribunal determined that the premium payable for the new lease was £5,932 This case related to 1 flat. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 76.06 years.
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