Recently asked questions relating to Woodford leasehold conveyancing
Planning to exchange soon on a studio apartment in Woodford. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. What should I be looking out for?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Woodford should include some of the following:
- Setting out your legal entitlements in respect of the communal areas in the building.For example, does the lease contain a right of way over an accessway or hallways?
I've recently bought a leasehold house in Woodford. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to my ownership?
Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous owner 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. A critical element 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).
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agent office in Woodford where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised as a result of short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Woodford conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can start the lease extension process for the buyer?
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 buyer need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible 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.
What advice can you give us when it comes to choosing a Woodford conveyancing firm to deal with our lease extension?
When appointing a solicitor for your lease extension (regardless if they are a Woodford conveyancing practice) it is essential that they be familiar with the legislation and specialises in this area of work. We suggested that you talk with two or three firms including non Woodford conveyancing practices prior to instructing a firm. Where the conveyancing practice is ALEP accredited then that’s a bonus. Some following of questions could be of use:
- If the firm is not ALEP accredited then why not?
Our conveyancer has advised that he intends to complete and exchange simultaneously on the disposal of our £375000 apartment in Woodford on Monday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £348 for Certificate of Compliance, insurance certificate and 3 years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge such fees for a leasehold conveyance in Woodford?
Woodford conveyancing on leasehold apartments often requires the purchaser’s conveyancer submitting questions for the landlord to answer. Although the landlord is not legally bound to answer such questions the majority will be content to do so. They may charge a reasonable administration fee for answering questions or supplying documentation. There is no set fee. The average fee for the information that you are referring to is over three hundred pounds, in some cases it is in excess of £800. The administration charge demanded by the landlord must be accompanied by a synopsis of entitlements and obligations in respect of administration fees, without which the charge is technically not due. Reality however dictates that you have no option but to pay whatever is requested of you if you want to sell the property.
After months of correspondence we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Woodford. Can we issue an application to the Residential Property Tribunal Service?
Most definitely. We are happy to put you in touch with a Woodford conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement decision for a Woodford property is 201 & 201a St. Barnabas Road in October 2013. The Tribunal decided that the price to be paid by the Applicants for the freehold interest is £20,071. This case affected 2 flats. The unexpired lease term was 69.26 years.
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