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Swanscombe leasehold conveyancing: Q and A’s

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Seventy years remaining on my lease in Swanscombe. I now wish to extend my lease but my landlord 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 apply to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be lengthened by the magistrate. However, you will be required to prove that you have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases an enquiry agent may be useful to conduct investigations and prepare an expert document which can be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer in relation to investigating the landlord’s absence and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Swanscombe.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold house in Swanscombe. Conveyancing and Nottingham Building Society mortgage organised. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. Attached was a ground rent demand for rent dating back to 1993. The conveyancing practitioner in Swanscombe who previously acted has now retired.Do I pay?

First make enquiries of HMLR to be sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. There is no need to incur the fees of a Swanscombe conveyancing solicitor to do this as you can do this on the Land Registry website for less than a fiver. Rest assured that regardless, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

I am tempted by the attractive purchase price for a couple of apartments in Swanscombe which have in the region of forty five years left on the lease term. should I be concerned?

There are plenty of short leases in Swanscombe. The lease is a right to use the property for a prescribed time frame. As a lease gets shorter the marketability of the lease decreases and results in it becoming more costly to extend the lease. This is why it is generally wise to extend the lease term. More often than not it is difficulties arise selling premises with a short lease because mortgage companies may be reluctant to lend money 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 arena

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Swanscombe from the perspective of speeding up the sale process?

  • A significant proportion of the delay in leasehold conveyancing in Swanscombe can be bypassed if you instruct lawyers as soon as your agents start marketing the property and request that they start to collate the leasehold documentation which will be required by the purchasers’ representatives.
  • Many landlords or managing agents in Swanscombe levy fees for supplying management packs for a leasehold homes. You or your lawyers should enquire as to the fee that they propose to charge. The management pack sought as soon as you have a buyer, thus accelerating the process. The average time it takes to obtain the necessary information is three weeks. It is the most usual cause of delay in leasehold conveyancing in Swanscombe.
  • In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example installed wooden flooring? Swanscombe leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence from the Landlord acquiescing to such works. If you fail to have the approvals in place do not communicate with the landlord without checking with your solicitor in advance.
  • Some Swanscombe leases require Landlord’s consent to the sale and approval of the buyers. If this applies to your lease, it would be prudent to notify your estate agents to make sure that the purchasers obtain bank and professional references. The 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 service charge figures so that they can pass this information on to the buyers or their lawyers.
  • If there is a history of conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being put on the market. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where there is an ongoing dispute. You may have to bite the bullet and pay any arrears of service charge or settle the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to present the dispute as over as opposed to ongoing.

    • Despite our best endeavours, we have been unsuccessful in trying to reach an agreement for a lease extension in Swanscombe. Can the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal adjudicate on premiums?

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

    An example of a Lease Extension matter before the tribunal for a Swanscombe premises is Various @ Colombus Square in January 2012. the Tribunal calculated the premiums to be paid for new leases for each of the flats in Mariners Walk to be £3822 and the premium to be paid for the new lease of 2 Knights Court to be £4439. This case affected 13 flats. The the unexpired residue of the current lease was 76 years.

    What are the common deficiencies that you encounter in leases for Swanscombe properties?

    Leasehold conveyancing in Swanscombe is not unique. Most leases are unique and legal mistakes in the legal wording can result in certain provisions are erroneous. The following missing provisions could result in a defective lease:

    • A provision to repair to or maintain parts of the property
    • 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 issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Barclays , Virgin Money, and Aldermore all have very detailed 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 grant the mortgage, obliging the buyer to pull out.

    Other Topics

    Lease Extensions in Swanscombe