Fixed-fee leasehold conveyancing in Northfield:

Get a Quote

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

Northfield leasehold conveyancing Example Support Desk Enquiries

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only 68 years left on my flat in Northfield. I need to extend my lease but my landlord is missing. What are my options?

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 enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. You will be obliged to prove that you have used your best endeavours to locate the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent should be helpful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord can not be located. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Northfield.

I am hoping to sign contracts shortly on a leasehold property in Northfield. Conveyancing solicitors inform me that they will have a report out to me within the next couple of days. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?

The report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Northfield should include some of the following:

  • You should receive a copy of the lease
  • You must be told what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease
  • You should have a good understanding of the insurance provisions
  • Repair and maintenance of the flat
  • I don't know whether the lease allows me to alter or improve anything in the flat - you should know whether it applies to all alterations or just structural alteration, and whether consent is required
  • The landlord’s rights to access the flat you be made aware that your landlord has rights of access and I know how much notice s/he must provide.
  • Responsibility for repairing the window frames For a comprehensive list of information to be contained in your report on your leasehold property in Northfield please enquire of your conveyancer in ahead of your conveyancing in Northfield

    • I am attracted to a two maisonettes in Northfield which have in the region of 50 years remaining on the lease term. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?

    A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. This is why it is advisable to extend the lease term. It is often difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage lenders less inclined to grant a loan on properties of this type. Lease extension can be a protracted process. We recommend you seek professional help from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this field

    I am employed by a long established estate agency in Northfield where we have witnessed a few flat sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received conflicting advice from local Northfield conveyancing solicitors. Could you clarify whether the seller of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

    As long as the seller has been the owner 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. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, 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 Northfield with the aim of expediting the sale process?

    • Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Northfield can be reduced where you instruct lawyers the minute you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information which will be required by the buyers solicitors.
    • Many landlords or managing agents in Northfield levy fees for providing management packs for a leasehold premises. You or your lawyers should discover the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack can be applied for as soon as you have a buyer, thus reducing delays. The typical amount of time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most common reason for delay in leasehold conveyancing in Northfield.
  • If you have carried out any alterations to the property would they have required Landlord’s approval? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Most leases in Northfield state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Should you fail to have the approvals to hand you should not contact the landlord without checking with your solicitor before hand.
  • If you hold a share in a the Management Company, you should make sure that you are holding the original share certificate. Arranging a new share certificate is often a time consuming formality and slows down many a Northfield conveyancing transaction. Where a duplicate share certificate is needed, you should approach the company director and secretary or managing agents (where relevant) for this as soon as possible.
  • You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but it would be advisable double-check via your conveyancers. A purchaser's lawyer will not be happy to advise their client to to exchange contracts if the remaining number of years is less than 75 years. It is therefore essential at an as soon as possible that you consider whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

    • Northfield Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should ask Prior to buying

      Please inform me if there are any major works in the planning that will likely add a premium to the maintenance costs? On the whole the outlay for major works tend not to be included within maintenance charges, albeit that some managing agents in Northfield require tenants to pay into a reserve fund and this is used to offset against larger repairs or maintenance. The prefered form of lease structure is where the freehold title is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this situation the leaseholders have being in charge if their destiny and even though a managing agent is usually employed if the building is bigger than a house conversion, the managing agent is directed by the tenants.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Northfield