South West London leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s
Having had my offer accepted I require leasehold conveyancing in South West London. Before I get started I require certainty as to the number of years remaining on the lease.
If the lease is registered - and 99.9% are in South West London - then the leasehold title will always include the basic details of the lease, namely the date; the term; and the original parties. From a conveyancing perspective such details then enable any prospective buyer and lender to confirm that any lease they are looking at is the one relevant to that title.For any other purpose, such as confirming how long the term was granted for and calculating what is left, then the register should be sufficient on it's own.
I am hoping to exchange soon on a basement flat in South West London. Conveyancing lawyers have said that they will have a report out to me tomorrow. Are there areas in the report that I should be focusing on?
Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in South West London should include some of the following:
- You should receive a copy of the lease
I own a leasehold house in South West London. Conveyancing and Birmingham Midshires mortgage went though with no issue. I have received a letter from someone claiming to own the reversionary interest in the property. It included a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1994. The conveyancing solicitor in South West London who acted for me is not around.Any advice?
The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to be sure that this person is indeed the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a South West London conveyancing lawyer to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for a few pound. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 no more than 6 years of rent can be collected.
I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a two maisonettes in South West London which have about 50 years remaining on the leases. Should I regard a short lease as a deal breaker?
There are plenty of short leases in South West London. The lease is a legal document that entitles you to use the premises for a period of time. As the lease shortens the value of the lease deteriorate and it becomes more costly to acquire a lease extension. For this reason it is generally wise to extend the lease term. Sometimes it is difficult to sell a property with a short lease as mortgage companies may be unwilling to lend money on such properties. Lease enfranchisement can be a difficult process. We advise that you get professional help from a solicitor and surveyor with experience in this area
I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in South West London where we have experienced a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given contradictory information from local South West London conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the seller of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence 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 for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, 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.
I own a garden flat in South West London. In the absence of agreement between myself and the freeholder, can the Leasehold valuation Tribunal determine the amount due for a lease extension?
Absolutely. We can put you in touch with a South West London conveyancing firm who can help.
An example of a Freehold Enfranchisement case for a South West London premises is 78 & 80 Newport Road in January 2013. the Tribunal concluded that the premium to be paid by the leaseholder in respect of the freehold reversion is £23,105 This case affected 2 flats. The the unexpired term as at the valuation date was 71.63 years.
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