Leasehold Conveyancing in Wembley Park - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park, you will need to appoint a conveyancing lawyer with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Santander, Yorkshire Building Society or NatWest make sure you choose a lawyer on their panel. Find a Wembley Park conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Wembley Park leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a reasonable price which is making it all the more appealing. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Wembley Park. Conveyancing advisers have are soon to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Wembley Park ?

Most houses in Wembley Park are freehold and not 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 apparent that you are buying in Wembley Park so you should seriously consider looking for a Wembley Park conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they have experience in transacting on leasehold houses. First you will need to check the number of years remaining. As a tenant you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to carry out changes to the property. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the estate where the house is part of an estate. Your conveyancer will advise you fully on all the issues.

I own a leasehold house in Wembley Park. Conveyancing and Barclays mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1997. The conveyancing solicitor in Wembley Park who previously acted has long since retired.What should I do?

The first thing you should do is contact HMLR to be sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a Wembley Park conveyancing firm to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. You should note that in any event, even if this is the legitimate freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.

I work for a long established estate agent office in Wembley Park where we have experienced a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Wembley Park conveyancing solicitors. Could you shed some light as to whether the vendor of a flat can instigate the lease extension process for the buyer?

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. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, 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 purchaser.

Can you offer any advice when it comes to appointing a Wembley Park conveyancing practice to deal with our lease extension?

When appointing a property lawyer for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Wembley Park conveyancing practice) it is imperative that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of conveyancing. We advise that you speak with several firms including non Wembley Park conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions might be useful:

  • Can they put you in touch with client in Wembley Park who can give a testimonial?
  • What are the charges for lease extension work?

    • Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park from the point of view of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park can be reduced where you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • The majority landlords or Management Companies in Wembley Park charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the actual amount of the charges. The management pack sought 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 Wembley Park.
  • A minority of Wembley Park leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this is the case, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. Any bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the annual 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 lawyers.
  • If you have had any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You may have to bite the bullet and discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. 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 details of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic as opposed to unresolved.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your lawyers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the lease term is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is important at an early stage that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your property on the market for sale.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without any joy. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Wembley Park conveyancing firm to help?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Wembley Park conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision 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 unexpired term was 76.06 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Wembley Park