Experts for Leasehold Conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs

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

Common questions relating to Wormwood Scrubs leasehold conveyancing

I only have Seventy years left on my flat in Wormwood Scrubs. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission 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 demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to find the freeholder. On the whole an enquiry agent would be helpful to conduct investigations and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the freeholder can not be located. It is advisable to get professional help from a solicitor both on devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Wormwood Scrubs.

I have just appointed agents to market my 2 bed apartment in Wormwood Scrubs.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a half-yearly maintenance charge invoice – what should I do?

It best that you pay the service charge as normal because all ground rent and service charges will be apportioned on completion, so you will be reimbursed by the buyer for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most managing agents will not acknowledge the buyer unless the service charges have been paid and are up to date so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. This will smooth the conveyancing process.

I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Wormwood Scrubs. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

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. However, 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).

Do you have any top tips for leasehold conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs can be avoided if you appoint lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation needed by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
  • Many freeholders or Management Companies in Wormwood Scrubs charge for supplying management packs for a leasehold property. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management information sought on or before finding a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to receive management information is three weeks. It is the most usual reason for frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs.
  • Some Wormwood Scrubs leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. 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. Any bank reference will need to confirm that the buyers are 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 solicitors.
  • If there is a history of any disputes with your freeholder or managing agents it is very important that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is unsettled. You may need to swallow your pride and 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 buyers, but it is better to present the dispute as historic rather than ongoing.
  • If you are supposed to have a share in the freehold, you should ensure that you have the original share certificate. Organising a re-issued share certificate can be a time consuming formality and delays many a Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing deal. If a new share certificate is needed, do contact the company director and secretary or managing agents (if relevant) for this sooner rather than later.

    • I have tried to negotiate informally with with my landlord to extend my lease without success. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal decide on such matters? Can you recommend a Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing firm to act on my behalf?

    You certainly can. We can put you in touch with a Wormwood Scrubs conveyancing firm who can help.

    An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a Wormwood Scrubs premises is 23 & 23A Collingbourne Road in June 2013. Tribunal was dealing with the assessment of the value of the freehold reversion and determination of the terms of the acquisition pursuant to an Order of District Judge Lightman dated 25 February 2013 vesting the freehold interest in the property in the applicant. The tribunal assessed the price of the freehold (to which any arrears or other sums due to the missing landlord under the leases should be added) at £81,638. This case was in relation to 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 64.5 years.

    When it comes to leasehold conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs what are the most frequent lease defects?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Wormwood Scrubs is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain clauses are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the premises
    • A duty to insure the building
    • Clauses dealing with recovering service charges for expenditure on the building or common parts.
    • 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 as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Mortgage Works, 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 problematic they may refuse to provide security, obliging the buyer to pull out.