Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park:

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Leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park 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 Wembley Park and next step up in loc. The lawyers we recommend have been approved by your lender so use our search tool to check.

Frequently asked questions relating to Wembley Park leasehold conveyancing

Frank (my husband) and I may need to rent out our Wembley Park ground floor flat for a while due to taking a sabbatical. We instructed a Wembley Park conveyancing practice in 2002 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to seek any advice as to whether the lease allows us to sublet. How do we find out?

Even though your last Wembley Park conveyancing solicitor is not available you can review your lease to check if you are permitted to let out the premises. The rule is that if the deeds are non-specific, subletting is permitted. There may be a precondition that you are obliged to obtain permission via your landlord or some other party prior to subletting. This means you not allowed to sublet in the absence of first obtaining permission. Such consent is not allowed to be unreasonably withheld. If your lease prohibits you from subletting the property you should ask your landlord for their consent.

Planning to complete next month on a garden flat in Wembley Park. Conveyancing lawyers inform 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 Wembley Park should include some of the following:

  • The unexpired lease term You should be advised as what happens when the lease ends, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Does the lease prevent you from letting out the property, or having a home office for business
  • Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future
  • An explanation as to the provision in the lease to pay service charges - with regard to both the building, and the more general rights a leaseholder has
  • 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
  • What the implications are if you breach a clause of your lease? For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Wembley Park please ask your solicitor in advance of your conveyancing in Wembley Park

    • I today plan to offer on a house that appears to be perfect, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have subsequently discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Wembley Park. Conveyancing lawyers have are soon to be appointed. Will my lawyers set out the implications 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 help the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Wembley Park in which case you should be 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. Being a lessee you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease comes with conditions for example obtaining the landlord’spermission to conduct alterations. It may be necessary to pay a contribution towards the upkeep of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your conveyancer will report to you on the legal implications.

    I work for a reputable estate agency in Wembley Park where we see a few flat sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Wembley Park conveyancing firms. Could you clarify whether the owner of a flat can instigate the lease extension process 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 kick-start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the proposed purchaser can avoid having 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 prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.

    An alternative approach is 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.

    Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wembley Park can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers the minute your agents start advertising the property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the purchasers’ lawyers.
    • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Wembley Park state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring necessitate a licence from the Landlord consenting to such changes. Where you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer first.
  • Some Wembley Park 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 bank and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are financially capable of paying 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 actual amount of the service charge so that they can pass this information on to the purchasers or their solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where a dispute is ongoing. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to completion of the sale. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled prior to the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as over as opposed to unsettled.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check via your solicitors. A buyer’s lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to where the lease term 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.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without getting anywhere. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such issues? Can you recommend a Wembley Park conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Wembley Park conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Wembley Park residence 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 affected 1 flat. The unexpired lease term was 76.06 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Wembley Park