Guaranteed fixed fees for Leasehold Conveyancing in Wood Green

Get a Quote

Whether you are buying or selling leasehold flat in Wood Green, our panel of leasehold conveyancing experts will help you move with as little stress as possible. Find a Wood Green conveyancing lawyer with our search tool

Frequently asked questions relating to Wood Green leasehold conveyancing

I am on look out for some leasehold conveyancing in Wood Green. Before I set the wheels in motion I would like to find out the unexpired term of the lease.

If the lease is registered - and almost all are in Wood Green - 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.

I have recently realised that I have Sixty One years remaining on my lease in Wood Green. I now wish to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

On the basis that you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. For most situations an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be accepted by the court as proof that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to proving the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court covering Wood Green.

Looking forward to sign contracts shortly on a garden flat in Wood Green. Conveyancing lawyers inform me that they are sending me a report tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Wood Green should include some of the following:

  • You should be sent a copy of the lease
  • How long the lease is You should be advised as what happens when the lease expires, and aware of the importance of not letting the lease term falling below eighty years
  • Details of the parties to the lease, for example these could be the leaseholder (you), head lessor, freeholder
  • Does the lease prevent you from subletting the flat, or working from home
  • You should be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • Whether the landlord has obligations to ensure rights of quiet enjoyment over your property and do you know what it means in practice?
  • What you can do if a neighbour is in violation of a provision in their lease? For details of the information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Wood Green please enquire of your solicitor in ahead of your conveyancing in Wood Green

    • I am looking at a couple of apartments in Wood Green which have in the region of fifty years left on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Wood Green is a deteriorating asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to zero years unexpired, the more it adversely affects the salability of the premises. The majority of purchasers and mortgage companies, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more upbeat note, leaseholders can extend their leases by serving a Section 42 Notice. One stipulation is that they must have owned the property for two years (unlike a Section 13 notice for purchasing the freehold, when leaseholders can participate from day one of ownership). When successful, they will have the right to an extension of 90 years to the current term and ground rent is effectively reduced to zero. Before moving forward with a purchase of a residence with a short lease term remaining you should talk to a solicitor specialising in lease extensions and leasehold enfranchisement. We are are happy to put you in touch with Wood Green conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. More often than not it is possible to negotiate informally with the freeholder to extend the lease You may find he or she is happy to negotiate informally and willing to consider your offer straight off, without having to involve anyone else. This will save you time and money and it could help you reach a lower price on the lease. You need to ensure that the agreed terms represent good long-term value compared with the standard benefits of the Section 42 Notice and that onerous clauses are not inserted into any redrafting of the lease.

    Can you provide any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wood Green with the purpose of saving time on the sale process?

    • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wood Green can be bypassed if you get in touch lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
    • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s permission? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Wood Green leases often stipulate that internal structural alterations or installing wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. Where you fail to have the consents in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in advance.
  • If you have had conflict 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 there is an ongoing dispute. You may need to swallow your pride 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 will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the purchasers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over rather than unsettled.
  • If you hold a share in a the freehold, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Organising a replacement share certificate can be a lengthy process and delays many a Wood Green home move. If a duplicate share certificate is required, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (where applicable) for this as soon as possible.
  • You believe that you know the number of years remaining on your lease but you should verify this by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to where the lease term is less than 80 years. It is therefore essential at an early stage that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your home on the market for sale.

    • I am the registered owner of a a ground floor purpose built flat in Wood Green. Given that I can not reach agreement with the landlord, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal make a decision on the premium payable for a lease extension?

    Most definitely. We can put you in touch with a Wood Green conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Lease Extension decision for a Wood Green premises is First Floor Flat 109 Lyndhurst Road in May 2010. Following a vesting order by Edmonton County Court on 29th October 2009 the Tribunal decided on a figure of £5,012 for a lease extension. This case affected 1 flat. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 81.79 years.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Wood Green