Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood:

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When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood, you will need to instruct a conveyancing solicitor with leasehold experience. Whether your mortgage company is to be Halifax, Birmingham Midshires or Bradford & Bingley make sure you choose a lawyer on their approved list. Feel free to use our search tool

Examples of recent questions relating to leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood. Before diving in I require certainty as to the remaining lease term.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and most are in West Norwood - 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.

My husband and I may need to sub-let our West Norwood garden flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We used a West Norwood conveyancing practice in 2004 but they have since shut and we did not have the foresight to get any guidance as to whether the lease prohibits the subletting of the flat. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is prohibited, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in West Norwood do not prevent an absolute prevention of subletting – such a provision would adversely affect the market value the property. In most cases there is simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly supplying a duplicate of the tenancy agreement.

I own a leasehold flat in West Norwood. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1995. The conveyancing practitioner in West Norwood who previously acted has long since retired.Any advice?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the registered owner of the freehold reversion. There is no need to incur the fees of a West Norwood conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in West Norwood. Do I have any liability for service charges for periods before my ownership?

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. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure 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).

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood can be reduced if you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers lawyers.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in West Norwood levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management pack can be applied for 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 usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood.
  • A minority of West Norwood leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this is the case, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers put in hand financial (bank) and professional references. The bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 solicitors.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate can be a time consuming process and delays many a West Norwood home move. Where a duplicate share is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if applicable) for this at the earliest opportunity.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should double-check 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 under 80 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease for your property needs extending. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • My wife and I have hit a brick wall in trying to purchase the freehold in West Norwood. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

    in cases where there is a missing freeholder or where there is disagreement about the premium for a lease extension, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 it is possible to make an application to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) to judgment on the sum to be paid.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a West Norwood residence is 172 Knollys Road in February 2012. On 13 September 2011 District Judge Guinan made a vesting order and the proceedings were transferred to the tribunal for the purpose of assessing the premium which was subsequently calculated to be £24,003 This case related to 4 flats. The the number of years remaining on the existing lease(s) was 98.28 for 3 flats other than the garden flat which had 66.04 years remaining.