Leasehold Conveyancing in West Norwood - Get a Quote from the leasehold experts approved by your lender

Get a Quote

While any conveyancing solicitor can theoretically handle your leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood, your mortgage provider may not be willing to work with them if the firm are not on their list of approved solicitors for conveyancing

Sample questions relating to West Norwood leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood. Before I get started I want to be sure as to the unexpired term of the lease.

Assuming the lease is recorded at the land registry - and almost all are in West Norwood - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details 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 wife and I purchased a leasehold house in West Norwood. Conveyancing and Santander mortgage are in place. I have received a letter from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing practitioner in West Norwood who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of HMLR to make sure that the individual purporting to own the freehold is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to instruct a West Norwood conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the rightful landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Last month I purchased a leasehold house in West Norwood. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to 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. 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).

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood from the perspective of saving time on the sale process?

  • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood can be bypassed where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ solicitors.
  • Many landlords or Management Companies in West Norwood levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should find out the actual amount of the charges. The management information sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most frequent reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood.
  • A minority of West Norwood leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is able to meet the yearly 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled before the property is marketed. The purchasers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a flat where a dispute is unsettled. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or settle 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 purchasers, but it is better to reveal the dispute as historic rather than unsettled.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you hold the original share certificate. Arranging a replacement share certificate can be a time consuming process and frustrates many a West Norwood home move. Where a reissued share certificate is necessary, do contact the company officers or managing agents (where applicable) for this sooner rather than later.

    • Having spent years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in West Norwood. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?

    Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a West Norwood conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision 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 was in relation to 4 flats. The unexpired lease term was 98.28 for 3 flats other than the garden flat which had 66.04 years remaining.

    What makes a West Norwood lease unacceptable for security purposes?

    Leasehold conveyancing in West Norwood is not unique. Most leases is drafted differently and drafting errors can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the premises
    • Insurance obligations
    • A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
    • Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

    A defective lease will likely cause problems when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Nationwide Building Society, Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, and Platform Home Loans Ltd all have express requirements when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is defective they may refuse to grant the mortgage, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.