Recently asked questions relating to Seaforth leasehold conveyancing
There are only 68 years left on my lease in Seaforth. I need to get lease extension but my freeholder is missing. What should I do?
On the basis that 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 an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you have used your best endeavours to track down the lessor. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be accepted by the court as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to devolving into the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Seaforth.
I have just appointed agents to market my basement apartment in Seaforth.Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon but I have just received a quarterly maintenance charge demand – Do I pay up?
The sensible thing to do is clear 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 management companies 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 maisonettes in Seaforth both have in the region of 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There is no doubt about it. A leasehold apartment in Seaforth is a wasting asset as a result of the shortening lease. The nearer the lease gets to its expiry date, the more it reduces the marketability of the property. For most purchasers and banks, leases with less than eighty years become less and less marketable. On a more positive 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 Seaforth conveyancing experts who will explain the options available to you during an initial telephone conversation free of charge. A more straightforward and quicker method of extending would be to contact your landlord directly and sound him out on the prospect of extending 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.
I am employed by a busy estate agent office in Seaforth where we have witnessed a number of flat sales put at risk due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Seaforth conveyancing firms. Could you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can commence the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
Provided that the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done before, or simultaneously with completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to agree the lease extension with the freeholder 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 purchaser.
If all goes to plan we aim to complete the disposal of our £275000 apartment in Seaforth in just under a week. The managing agents has quoted £372 for Landlord’s certificate, insurance certificate and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge exorbitant fees for a flat conveyance in Seaforth?
Seaforth conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily involves administration charges levied by landlords agents :
- Completing conveyancing due diligence enquiries
- Where consent is required before sale in Seaforth
- Supplying insurance information
- Deeds of covenant upon sale
- Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale
Seaforth Leasehold Conveyancing - Examples of Questions you should consider before Purchasing
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The majority of Seaforth leasehold properties will have a service charge for the upkeep of the block invoiced by the freeholder. Should you buy the flat you will have to pay this liability, normally in instalments during the year. This may vary from several hundred pounds to thousands of pounds for bigger purpose-built blocks. There will also be a ground rent to be met yearly, normally this is not a large amount, say around £25-£75 but you need to enquire it because occasionally it could be many hundreds of pounds.
The best form of lease structure is where the freehold reversion is in the ownership of the leaseholders. In this arrangement the tenants have control and even though a managing agent is often employed where the building is larger than a house conversion, the managing agent acts for the leaseholders themselves.
Are any of leasehold owners in dispute over their service charge liability?
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