Top Five Questions relating to Rednal leasehold conveyancing
I only have 72 years left on my lease in Rednal. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?
If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the lessor. For most situations a specialist should be useful to try and locate and to produce an expert document which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a conveyancer both on devolving into the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Rednal.
I’m about to sell my garden flat in Rednal.Conveyancing has not commenced but I have just had a quarterly service charge demand – Do I pay up?
It best that you pay the invoice 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 am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two apartments in Rednal both have in the region of 50 years unexpired on the leases. Do I need to be concerned?
A lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As the lease shortens the saleability of the lease reduces and it becomes more expensive to extend the lease. This is why it is often a good idea to increase the term of the lease. Sometimes it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies less inclined to grant a loan on such properties. Lease extension can be a difficult process. We advise that you seek professional assistance from a conveyancer and surveyor with experience in this arena
I've recently bought a leasehold flat in Rednal. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before 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 be sure 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).
Can you provide any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Rednal with the intention of saving time on the sale process?
- Much of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Rednal can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and ask them to put together the leasehold information which will be required by the purchasers’ conveyancers.
- If you have carried out any alterations to the residence would they have required Landlord’s permission? In particular have you installed wooden flooring? Most leases in Rednal state that internal structural changes or laying down wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord consenting to such alterations. If you fail to have the paperwork in place you should not communicate with the landlord without contacting your conveyancer in the first instance.
I own a ground floor flat in Rednal, conveyancing formalities finalised half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Similar properties in Rednal with a long lease are worth £181,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £55 invoiced every year. The lease expires on 21st October 2102
With 79 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £8,600 and £9,800 plus costs.
The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of comprehensive investigations. Do not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt other concerns that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.
Other Topics