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

Get a Quote

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

Westcombe Park leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

My partner and I may need to sub-let our Westcombe Park 1st floor flat temporarily due to a career opportunity. We instructed a Westcombe Park conveyancing firm in 2002 but they have closed and we did not have the foresight to seek any guidance as to whether the lease permits subletting. How do we find out?

Your lease dictates relations between the freeholder and you the flat owner; specifically, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The rule is that if the lease contains no expres ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Westcombe Park do not contain strict prohibition on subletting – such a clause would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my lease in Westcombe Park. I am keen to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. For most situations an enquiry agent would be helpful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a solicitor in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Westcombe Park.

I own a leasehold flat in Westcombe Park. Conveyancing and Virgin Money mortgage went though with no issue. 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 Westcombe Park who acted for me is not around.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that this person is in fact the new freeholder. It is not necessary to incur the fees of a Westcombe Park conveyancing practitioner to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for £3. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the rightful freeholder, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I work for a busy estate agent office in Westcombe Park where we have witnessed a few leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have received conflicting advice from local Westcombe Park conveyancing firms. Please can you confirm whether the vendor of a flat can start the lease extension process 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 start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or at the same time as completion of the disposal of the property.

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 buyer.

Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Westcombe Park with the intention of speeding up the sale process?

  • Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Westcombe Park can be reduced where you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start advertising the property and request that they start to put together the leasehold information needed by the buyers solicitors.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Westcombe Park charge for providing management packs for a leasehold homes. 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 typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Westcombe Park.
  • Some Westcombe Park leases require Licence to Assign from the landlord. If this applies to your lease, you should place the estate agents on notice to make sure that the purchasers put in hand bank and professional references. The bank reference should make it clear that the buyer is 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 lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your freeholder or managing agents it is essential that these are settled prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be concerned about purchasing a property where there is a current dispute. You will have to accept that you will have to pay any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to completion of the sale. 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 clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over as opposed to unresolved.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the Management Company, you should make sure that you hold the original share document. Obtaining a duplicate share certificate is often a time consuming formality and frustrates many a Westcombe Park home move. If a new share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this at the earliest opportunity.

    • I inherited a ground floor flat in Westcombe Park. Given that I can not reach agreement with the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for the purchase of the freehold?

    Absolutely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Westcombe Park conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension case for a Westcombe Park premises is 73 Walerand Road in August 2012. the result of the findings of the Tribunal led to a premium to be paid for the extended lease in respect of Flat 73 in the sum of £10,040. The premium applicable in respect of Flat 85 was £5,710. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired term was 72 years.